Album Review: Amy Martin, Travelin' On

Anyone paying cursory attention to the lyrics on American songwriter Amy Martin’s Travelin’ On is sure to twig that the self-described “queer Christian” country-folk performer, with the bluegrass background and badass voice, arrived at her POV distinctly. 

The clues come early and often. Galloping, harmonica-greased album opener “Antebellum Town” finds our heroine splitting from a stifling “racist” environment, seeking greener pastures where she can “smoke some dope and pay my bills” and where “the beauty will give you chills.” More statement of intent than country corker, “Antebellum Town” sets the tone but doesn’t define Travelin’ On which has enough thematic range to observe both transcendent love (the sun-dappled “Good Morning Beautiful”) and the grind of workaday life (“Chamomile & Whiskey” propelled equally by fiddle and vivid imagery of an archetypal diner waitress).

The set’s seven original songs gather thunder from Martin’s beforementioned voice; powerhouse may be a criminally overused word but it’s hard to think of one that fits better. Even strummy, simply rendered odes like the title track are lifted exponentially by Martin’s dynamic belting, which refuses to dial down from 11 even in sadness (break-up anthem “It’s All Right”). 

One suspects Chance McCoy — the acclaimed fellow Virginian who produced — insisted Martin sing like her life depended on it. Which, judging by the raucous hijinks chronicled in unhinged album closer “Where The Devil’s Found,” it probably did. All that said, a bit more bluegrass twang would have been welcome.

Traveiln’ On was released January 6, 2023.
Listen to it here.