If you wish to contact the band direct for booking shows, general contact etc then please feel free to email them at [email protected]
Amanda Woodward has a strong driving sound that sets them apart from the previous notions of French hardcore that include the screaming yet melodic emo works by Jasmine, Fingerprint, and countless other crucial French acts. Hoarse vocals that are both sung and yelled in a seemingly simultaneous fashion are one element that elevates Amanda Woodward above their predecessors. Guitar work and drumming that references the hard and energetic indie sound often associated with Drive Like Jehu and Trail of Dead, Amanda Woodward still manages to retain the emotion and dynamics that are the keystone of emo hardcore.
(taken from www.level-plane.com)
A few reviews.
Remember how you felt the first time you heard bands like Closure, Portraits of Past, Serotonin, The Khayembii Communique, Saetia, Inkwell, Maximillian Colby, I, Robot, and Yage (among others)? Outfits that perfectly coalesced driving dynamic hardcore, clamorous punk rock, and blood-curdling screams with melody and soft interludes. Caen, France's Amanda Woodward plays a style akin to the aforementioned bands...a style that's both vibrant and passionate.
After seeing Amanda Woodward live a couple weeks back, I left the show with a huge smile fixed on my faceto say the least, I was highly impressed. The impact of Amanda's set was comparable to the excitement I felt unearthing punk rock for the first time. An inspiring sound that contained all the raw and gritty elements I love, Amanda's entrancing live set equals the energy of the inspiring tracks on their La Decadence de la Decadence. But don't be a fool and miss them live...remember, they're from France. Opportunities to see a moving punk rock band like this are few and far between.
Releases like La Decadence de la Decadence fuels my love for punk rock. On La Decadence the listener continuously gets stung by melodic guitar lashes, swirling reverberation, screams of desperation and anguish, and hard-driving dynamics that will ricochet in your head well after the needle stops. Sure, comparisons can be made to the defunct French scream-outfit Jasmine (the Jasmine / Elements of Need split should already be a release tucked away in your record collection), but the intensity of feeling by Amanda's electric shock to the auditory nerve incites a greater energyand this can be experienced both by their high-voltage performance and on La Decadence de la Decadence.
With Amanda Woodward's newest offering, punk rock has never sounded so alive, and the French language has never sounded so cool. La Decadence de la Decadence is simply infectious and a must.
by Ken Hawk (from www.faketrain.com)
What has France done for you, lately? Thats always been the first thing Ive asked myself when I got out of bed, and Ive simply just never been able to answer that question. Well, I no longer have to ask myself that very same question in the morning, as a fine lady by the name of Amanda Woodward has done so for me. This is no ordinary lady, however; this is chaotic hardcore sent stateside by way of France. All the songs may be in their native tongue, but the type of rock this band brings is something any American can fully understand.
Like it or not, French men are often associated with being on the more effeminate side of things, but Amanda Woodward do not slow down long enough to offer a single example of such wimpery, as they blaze through 8 tracks in just under 25 minutes. This is a band that has a terrific home amongst their contemporaries on the Level Plane roster, channeling the defunct City Of Caterpillar in both style and substance. No, these songs are not long, epic passages; theyre short, passionate bursts of energy that convey the band's political message in radical form. Post-rock instrumental passages, chaotic screaming, thundering guitars, and its tied together with a social and political message all their own.
'Days have gone when we could see the usurpers settle their bloody works on our glorious expectation ruins. Many years too late, dressing our wounds, enduring the wearing and tearing of our confiscated bodies, only our eyes are left for window shopping and cry for that commercial modern convenience. But this disposed luxury is at the cost of all the broken hands that made it.'
Those lyrics, courtesy of On Les Aura Bien Plomb Les Y perfectly represent what the messages of this album are all about. Maybe its just me being a close-minded American, but who knew such unrest with social and political issues existed in France? Amanda Woodward are obviously not casting a blind eye on such issues, and theyre tackling them with ferocity and style. "Sans-Vie rages on a course full of unsure structure, careening through various chord progressions and vocal explosions with all the intensity one could ever ask for. Trop De Gens Qu'on Mal A Mon C showcases the other side of the band's personality, offering more low, brooding instrumental passages with sporadic bits of screaming; this is where that City Of Caterpillar influence definitely shines through. Thats not to say the band doesnt have their own identity, as I find the more I listen to this album, the more distinct it actually becomes from the pack.
Everything works for Amanda Woodward on this album, probably even better than the band themselves could have expected. The guitar tones are just right, melodic and discordant just the same, the vocals only get better, and more intense as the album progresses, and their political message, albeit in French, does not go without notice. A powerful message put forth in an even more powerful manner, this is definitely a band too look out for.
(from www.punknews.org)