photoby DeirdreO'Callaghan

Amy Macdonaldstrikes back at pop culture on debut album

By Claire Ashton Published: August14th,2008| '10:20am platinum At only20,AmyMacdonald already has achieved double sucoess the U.K.with herdebutalbum, in This lsthe l-fe. Luckily, Glaswegian everybit authentic she is unpretentious. the is as guitarbtand selfaroclaimedtomboywho cut her teethon MichaelJackson'sfinTlersubmitted The self-taught homemade recordings musiccompanis advftisedin the bac*.of ttlewMusknlExpress, to that eventually securing production withLondon-based a deal Melodramatic Records. quite18yearsold at the time, Not probssional-quality Macdonald recorded versions hermaterial of underthe supervision lrlelodramatic head of PeteWilkinson, landed a publishing record who her and dealwith Deccabebre producing ls fheLdbin lhis 2007. As a dogmaticlistenerwho saysshe hatesbeingdidated to and beingtold who's goingto be the nextbig thing, Macdonald choseto avoil over-hyping albumovereeas favorof letting songsspread her in the organically via 'We wanted allor the musicto speakfor itselfandlet peopb havea senseof ownership wordof mouth. to over it,"shesaysvia phone.

ReleasedAugust 19 in the U.S., Ihis Is fhe Life is an acoustic-infusedpop album chock full of fire -

it takes a

bold stance against superficiality,celebrity, and authorityfrom the youthful perspec{iveof a wide-eyed who says she isn't shy abouttellingpeoplewhat she thinks. troubadour

Taking an unabashedlyhonest stance on everythingfrom ex-Libertinesfrontman Pete Doherty to the reality TV show 8rg Brother, Macdonald'smaterial provides a refreshinglyrelevant critique of popular culture. "[Superficiality]is really in the forefront of British cuhure lately," Macdonaldsays. "Shows like Big Brother have spawned this whole generationof people who just want to be famous. lt's just a bad shame that this whole wave the of things is infiuencing youngergeneration."

With an album loaded with self-pennedmaterial, the unassumingsinger with gutsy, crystal-clearvocals - tinged with a Scottish accent uses her platform to deliver "simple songs about simple situations."On the track

"poison Prince,"for example, Macdonaldspeaks to the drug-addled,tabloid-victimizedDoherty. "'Poison Prince' is a song basicallyto Pete saying, 'Please forget all of the rubbishthat you do now and go back and make some good music."'

Macdonald has spent the past 18 months trekking across Europe, sharing the stage with a number of legends from Paul Weller to Elton John, with great audience reception.Macdonald also braved a recent stint on the Europeanfestival circuit - a "harder gig" that she says was just as rewarding.'Festival gigs are not necessarily your own fan base," she says. "Bui if you're coming to the end of your set and you see more and more people you startto think, 'Oh wow, l've done a goodjob. I've probablywon over a whole bunch of new fans clapping, here!'"

While sharing the stage with popular headliningartists has been good for her credibilityand helped her to achieve an accolade-worthyplatinum sales status, it's a local performancein Macdonald'shometown of says. Macdonald Glasgowthat she holdsmost dear. "l wrote a song on my album aboutThe Barrowlands," "David Bowie said that it was his favorite place to play in the world. lwas really excited to play there, and it was one of the best nights of my life."

Swaggeringvocals that pack a punch combined with what Macdonalddescribes as "upbeat music that you can tap your toes to" make her brand of earthy pop akin to KT Tunstall. "l've got quite a deep, distinctivevoice, and I like to write songs that really anybody can relate to," she says'

The bona fide songstress,who is a re@nt recipient of Silver Clefs "Best Newcomer''Award, has been able to sidestepthe drama that besets so many artists who aftain celebri$ status during their teens. "l have been really says. lucky in that l've had this success,but I have been able to remainnormalat the same time,"Macdonald "success hasn't really hamperedanything."