Reviews
“All That I Am & All That I Was is a confident set of eleven songs built around subtle and impassioned string arrangements. That and a gossamer touch. Indulge me if you will, but like Genesis’ Trespass but without the buildup to the violence of The Knife.”
by MIKE AINSCOE 2020
Almost inevitably Ms Amy has been the a Godsend to those who’ve been in search of the ‘new Kate Bush’. Heralded by a wave of supporters whilst being embraced by the prog field in much the same way the search to find a ‘new Dylan’ was part and parcel of the seventies and beyond.
"Unlike The Heart’ might have been the song a young Kate Bush wrote if she’d been spending time with Van De Graaf Generator’s Peter Hammill round about the time he recorded his break-up Over album."
by Paul H Birch - RAMzine AUG 2020
"Achingly beautiful music in troubled times..
by Nick Holmes Music APRIL 15th 2020
In those distant days before the world was gripped by the hands of a virus that forced us all into lockdown, I was on my way back home on a train from London. I was doing some research on my laptop into the Prog Rock band Porcupine Tree (as you do). The woman sitting next to me asked me if I liked that genre of music. Guilty as charged. She introduced herself as Ms Amy Birks (Winner of “Best Female Vocalist” in the 2018 PROG Magazine poll). She told me that she was about to release her debut solo album, having split with her former band Beatrix Players. I promised to review the album when it was released. So, dear reader, here is my review."
“The first thing that strikes you is Amy’s voice, which is honey-rich, sometimes heavy with emotional vibrato, urgently rhythmic in its phrasing and in its need to communicate these quietly vital songs.”
“It feels like a false relation, appropriately enough a musical technique that was popular during the reign of Henry VIII.”
.”..Amy nailed it down to a “T”. As I’ve mentioned earlier, this shows the challenging subjects that go beyond the Beatrix Players vision, but with a pop, folky, and carrying that classical approach, Amy Birks has spread her wings to fly."
byZachary Nathanson Echoes and Dust JULY 2020
9 / 10 ALBUM REVIEW Ms Amy Birks | All That I Am & All That I Was
by The Prog Mind APRIL 7th 2020
“Ms Amy Birks debuts with a weighty album of progressive pop.
9 / 10 What we have here is an album of perfect balance and quiet turmoil.
The music and lyrics both show restraint and passion simultaneously. The orchestrations and melodies are vivid, yet flicker in the back of your mind rather than forcing their way to the forefront. The album, then, comes across as serene and understated, but the power and fierceness of it all will grow on you with each listen. Again and again, the music feels like the flushed sky of a waning summer day, bathed in color and splendor, but also feeling hushed and introspective."
ALBUM REVIEW Ms Amy Birks | All That I Am & All That I Was
by Decibel Report APRIL 2nd 2020
“Gleaming with jewels of musical deftness, this captivating release reveals literary songs, narratives and melodies that lays bare an artist who pours forth her pure emotions from a deep inner well of personal feelings
The spectral Catherine will draw inevitable comparisons to Kate Bush as Birks’ vocal entwines with cello in a lament to the unjust fate of The Lady of Aragon.”
‘All That I Am and All That I Was’ is a major achievement, breaking down walls between what we perceive and what beauty actually is, from icy blues to the most vibrant of reds. You’ll fall in love with this album and this passion may just last your lifetime. *****
by Paul Monkhouse - Get Ready To Rock 2020
"Adding the icing to the cake is the pristine production by Birks, the artist not only understanding her strengths and vision but also that it is the whole that matters, avoiding the temptation of grandstanding to the detriment of the finished product. ‘All That I Am and All That I Was’ is a major achievement, breaking down walls between what we perceive and what beauty actually is, from icy blues to the most vibrant of reds. You’ll fall in love with this album and this passion may just last your lifetime. *****
ALBUM REVIEW Ms Amy Birks | All That I Am & All That I Was
by Prog APRIL 2nd 2020
“one would love to avoid Kate Bush comparisons for once, but the very English rural, feel here makes that impossible. The music exists in the same mood-world as ‘Lionheart’. That’s not easy to achieve, and it fills the room with melancholy.”
“It’s a lush, lilting experience.” “that graceful voice glides” “it’s deeply impressive delights leave you hugely optimistic about all that she will be.”
CD REVIEW Ms Amy Birks | All That I Am & All That I Was
by The Progmeister 15TH MARCH 2020
”Kate Bush fans form an orderly queue. For lovers of Kate’s work and style there is now once again a young and vibrant exponent of storytelling and musical theatrics…this is very much a listening experience to be savoured and not just celebrated…Amy’s voice so often found in artistes with youth on their side also has a lilting vibrato that captivated me and pinned me to my chair…Lyrically explicit of the emotion and musically stark it left me stunned…For those of us who enjoy the music of Tori Amos and the fore mentioned Ms Bush will find this album a breath of fresh air.”
CD REVIEW Ms Amy Birks | All That I Am & All That I Was
by Viewed From The Peaks 13TH MARCH 2020
”If there’s any expectation on Amy to produce material of note with this release she has met that with ease. This is an assured, literate, often beautiful release that quite often refuses to be confined to a particular style. There’s some folk in there, but also pop, rock and lots of chamber music. It is the blend of these styles that keeps the music interesting and fresh…There’s melancholy in there and the psychological element gives an almost gothic feel. The lyrics though are very literate, tasteful and have the beautiful sadness that many poets manage to create.”
ALBUM REVIEW Ms Amy Birks | All That I Am & All That I Was
by Mike Davies - folking.com 9TH JUNE 2020
“For all that she was, Birks has long been celebrated by the prog audiences, this album and all that she is now should go a considerable way to opening the ears of the folk fraternity too.@
LIVE REVIEW Ms Amy Birks | All That I Am & All That I Was
by The Progressive Aspect 7th March - Tring
“what we learn here is that her songwriting prowess grows rapidly. She tackles difficult subjects, such as divorce, suicide, even assault, and sings with such honesty and integrity one cannot fail to be moved…When the album appears next month, it promises to be essential.”
The Progressive Aspect - Read Full Review
Live Review - 7th June 2019
"There are definite hints of Kate Bush in Amy’s songwriting which I suppose is inevitable for an English female singer with undoubted prog inclinations, but these tunes have an innate charm of their own." @TheProgAspect
Live Review - Prog Magazine July 2019
"By Unlike The Heart her tremulous contralto totally convinces, and climactic closer Jamaica Inn is a powerful, Kate Bush-like telling of what will be her lead-off single from an upcoming album…" Prog Magazine - Jo Kendall