You may know Amanda Blank as the hip-hop vixen in a number of Spank Rock tracks (most notably, “Bump”), and she’s often toured (and ahem, partied to the point of losing her voice) with the crew, but on her debut, I Love You, her persona is shining brighter than ever. For starters, Amanda’s liquid smooth vocal talent really comes to the forefront, flowing in the ears like Patron XO Café down the throat.
Tying things up and down is “Make It Take It,” a high-energy, cardio blast of cotton candy goodness; a surge of sweet and sweat, leaving one with a silly smile of contentment.
“Big Heavy” is a perfect car-dance-through-the-sunroof track, and “Might Like You Better” twists the Romeo Void ditty (“Never Say Never”) with a deep electro, hip-hop grip. And with another nod to the ‘80s, whether intentionally or not, is “Make-Up,” a Kraftwerk infused song to warm up the lovelies for a night on the town.
I Love You is an amalgamation of Amanda’s musical facets, showing a soft, feminine side on “Leaving You Behind,” then blending this with her street smart rap on “A Love Song.” And then, similar to Courtney Love’s pearls dropping and tea cup crashing to the floor, Amanda’s sexual, ‘say it like it is’ lyrical bite reveals itself on “Gimme What You Got.” And who better to flip a guest spot on this track than Spank Rock.
No diss to the boys and the likes of Flosstradamus, MSTRKRFT, Presets or DIOYY (God knows I love ’em all), but it’s about fucking time female power and talent of this level is hitting the stages, Internet airwaves and dance charts. Can’t help but love Amanda’s I Love You.
Speaking of stages, Amanda Blank is currently on tour, coming into Denver with Matt & Kim on Tuesday, September 8 at the Bluebird.
