Mama Acoustic Recordings

Said to have been on a sabbatical from her music career, Emily Wells put that notion to rest by plugging into her traveling reel-to-reel machine for an acoustic version of her acclaimed 2012 album *Mama*. In the place of whirring synths and carefully calibrated machines were soft, cooing vocals deep in a pit of reverb where a lone acoustic guitar sketched out the barest of accompaniment. The songs, in turn, become ghost dances communicating through subliminal time. One new track, \"Los Angeles,\" takes the place of *Mama*\'s instrumental piece, while the remaining nine are re-imagined versions. \"No Good,\" in particular, takes on a naked playfulness where the words become notes jumping through hoops in the night air. \"Johnny Cash\'s Mama\'s House\" pulls back on the reverb to reveal a country-folk song that sounds like it was birthed in an old wooden shack. \"Mama\'s Gonna Give You Love\" aches like a ghostly old blues.