Amanda Leigh

Amanda Leigh is the upcoming sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mandy Moore, to be released on May 26, 2009. Amanda Leigh is Moore's first and middle name, respectively. Background and music In October 2008, Moore posted on her website blog live videos of three new songs she's been working on, along with singer-songwritter, pianist and guitarist Mike Viola. It was at first expected to a be a duo album between the two, but then in January 2009, it was revealed it would be a solo album with a collaboration with him, slated for release in May 2009. Recording sessions for the album took place around December 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. A video of the experience was posted on the website for Gain, the laundry soap. It can be viewed in their 'First Sniff' section of their website which Mandy has used as a promotional platform for the release of the album. It was announced in February 2009 that the new album was to be released in May 2009, and named Amanda Leigh on a new label called Storefront Recordings. This new label was founded by Moore's long time manager John Leshay. Confirmed tracks for the album are "Everblue", "Nothing/Everything", "Love To Love Me Back", "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week", and "Song About Home". Moore worked with Lori McKenna on the album once again. The album's music channels variously channels Todd Rundgren, Joni Mitchell, and Paul McCartney. According to Moore, "The music is all a reflection of me now, not somebody else's choices." Promotion and release For the promotion of the album, Moore will be performing an exclusive concert for the winning town of the "First Sniff" competition on Gain's official site. The town that has the most stories placed on the website wins the competition and gets the concert hosted there. On March 17 2009, her first single for the record "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week" was released for digital download on iTunes. This also was the date of the pre-ordering for the album. Also on March 17, Moore's official website shared clips from all the songs off the standard edition of the album.New songs, "Fern Dell" and "Love To Love Me Back," were made available for streaming at her Myspace page a few days after. Reception Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+, stating that the album was "much more fun" than Wild Hope and praised the songs "Merrimack River", "Pocket Philosopher", and "Songs About Home." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of allmusic wrote the album is a "clean, classy collection of AAA pop." He also went on to say that, "[Mandy] has successfully dropped all the tacky accoutrements of her past and turned into a sweet, classy singer/songwriter whose charms are readily apparent here, her best adult pop record yet." My Crazy Music Blog also gave a positive review, declaring, "Amanda Leigh, overall, is a throwback to an earlier time but a successful throwback. Moore effectively adds a fresh perspective to her music & solidifies her folk/country/singer-songwriter sound with ease, grace and style."