Mandy Rowden -- 1,000 Miles

Mandy Rowden's voice is the sonic equivalent of a thousand-yard stare. She can turn any song into something that's road-beaten and worn around the edges. Her turn on "Amazing Grace" on this album makes me wonder what she'd do with "Happy Birthday." 1,000 Miles is a little less brash than Rowden's first album, perhaps indicative of the emotional and physical distances she's traveled since then.


Rowden excels at writing hooks that will take up residency in your brain. Every so often I get songs from These Bad Habits in my head, and I haven't listened to the full album in a year. "1,000 Miles," this album's title track, is one of those songs. It sounds like you've maybe heard it somewhere before but can't quite pick it out. Then you're floored by the swirl of frustration, anxiety, regret...the songs themselves aren't exactly complex, but Rowden and her band bring such depth to them that they're unforgettable.


Mandy Rowden -- Official, Bandcamp