Aimee Mann - Queens Of The Summer Hotel

 

Til Tuesday singer-songwriter Aimee Mann returns with Queens of the Summer Hotel

Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann's new album, Queens of the Summer Hotel, features 15 songs inspired by the book "Girl, Interrupted" written by Susanna Kaysen. The book chronicles the author's stay in a mental institution.

What began as a commission to create a soundtrack for the stage adaptation of the cinematic masterpiece Girl, Interrupted evolved into Aimee Mann's striking stand-alone album, Queens of the Summer Hotel, and in fact, one of the most emotive efforts of her career.

Mann, whose notoriety began with the ‘80s band Til Tuesday (best known for their hit "Voices Carry"), has never been shy about sharing emotions that are often tumultuous, but this time around, she's offered the opportunity to delve into the push and pull of mental illness and the residual effects that can leave a lingering imprint on one's psyche.

American Songwriter gives the album 4/5 Stars, calling it "sweetly sublime, a series of delicately orchestrated arrangements that come courtesy of longtime collaborator Paul Bryan. Songs such as "You Fall," "You Don't Have the Room," "Home By Now," "At the Frick Museum," "Burn It Out," and the album's initial single, the tellingly titled "Suicide Is Murder," suggest an elegiac intent. However, there are ample hints of Mann's penchant for pop, especially as evidenced on "You Could Have Been a Roosevelt," a wistful and whimsical retreat from the cerebral sounds that dominate the album overall.

"... it ranks with the best albums of Mann's nearly 40-year career. Expressive and emotive, it's a work that finds delicacy and diligence operating on equal footing."

Act I

1. You Fall

2. Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath

3. Give Me Fifteen

4. At The Frick Museum

5. Home By Now

6. Checks

7. Little Chameleon

8. You Don't Have The Room

Act II

1. Suicide Is Murder

2. You Could Have Been A Roosevelt

3. Burn It Out

4. In Mexico

5. Check (reprise)

6. You're Lost

7. I See You

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