Amie Miriello

Just a quick post tonight about an artist who not only has a sparkling smile (see above), but does a pretty good job countryfying a cover of Smashing Pumpkins' Disarm. Not sure who I'm talking about? Her name's Amie Miriello and she's set to release her debut album I Came Around on September 2nd.

Before the term countryfying scares you off though, stick with me for a minute. Amie has a crystal clear voice that soars with wisdom that belies her age which reminds me at points of Tori Amos meets Ani DiFranco, and it's there that you'll find a little Nashville (even though she originally hails from Connecticut). For the most part, the musical elements behind her though steer clear of the country twang, and do a nice job of blending guitar (both acoustic and electric) with piano.

You can listen to the title track below, an upbeat guitar driven song that leads the album off. It doesn't feature any of the piano elements I mentioned above, and which you'll find mixed in on other tracks, and sometimes simply standing alone (Snow is a perfect example of Amie's voice and piano). Also below you can check out the Smashing Pumpkins' cover. Amie has taken out some of the dramatic highs of the song and leveled it out a bit, sticking just with an acoustic guitar and her own voice.

Amie Miriello - I Came Around : I Came Around

Amie Miriello - Disarm (Smashing Pumpkins cover) : Non-album track

Visit her website, her label Jive / Zomba, and become her friend on MySpace.

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Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm : BBC London 12/09/93 (studio version on Siamese Dreams)