Review Summary: with the wreckage of her past behind her, Aimee turns over a new leaf, emotionally, spiritually, and musically.
For some reason, throughout my entire musical journey, I have never listened to reggae. It seems that in the flurry of my searching for new and exciting music to listen to, I have never found a single reggae album; that is, until I luckily stumbled upon Aimee Allen’s “A Little Happiness”. Based on the album cover, I thought I would hate the album. The artwork simply shows the woman at a beach, with guitar in hand, and smiling away – this really is exactly what the album sounds like, and even what the album title foreshadows. If all you need is a little happiness to get you through the day, “A Little Happiness” aims to do just that.
Aimee Allen’s story is a powerful one. One day, when she walked out of a L.A. recording studio, she was randomly assaulted by a gang and left for dead. Eventually recovering in a hospital, she had time to look back at her life, realizing how awful it was. She said herself, “I have some memory loss, too, which is great. Turns out getting nearly beaten to death was probably the greatest thing that ever happened to me.” (http://www.aimeeallen.com/bio.html). Now, Aimee Allen celebrates her new dependence on God, realizing that only God can change her. Whether you believe in fate or not, her story is truly compelling, and she will certainly seem a convincing model for the benefits of redemption.
Aimee’s music is no longer loud pop rock mixed with hip-hop and vulgarity. Her past music style literally overloads her senses, so light reggae-pop is where it’s at. It is all acoustic, with no technical wizardry or other recording tricks - just her, and her small band. For instance, there is the acoustic ‘Save Me’, a cover of Unwritten Law’s ‘Save Me (Wake Up Call)’, but sounds like a completely different song once Aimee is through with it. She also covers Sublime’s ‘Santeria’, which turns out better than the original song, and is certainly more emotive. However, this is not an album of cover songs only, and there is plenty of room for the singer to let her vocals and songwriting shine.
‘Calling the Maker’ showcases Aimee’s ingenuity, the song is easily a cut above the rest. With piano, interesting percussion sounds, snare rolls, and an exclusively interesting use of backing vocals, it is a different breed of song. The song sounds apocalyptic, and fittingly so, for the lyrics of the song are meant to express her plea to God for mercy on Judgment day. However, the album is mainly joyful as Aimee feels a ‘Change in the Weather’, and goes ‘On Vacation’ in ‘La La Land’, singing from the heart, and spreading ‘A Little Happiness’ to all who listen.
