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The Freewheelin’ Adam Amram delivers a folksy ode to isolation on “Overtime”

A Brooklyn staple, Adam Amram lends his musical talents to numerous bands including Tall Juan, Psychic Ills, and Champagne Superchillin’. In preparation for his first solo outing, Amram channels the plain-spoken and textural stylings of folk-singing troubadours that defined the counterculture movement of 1960s New York to protest a different kind of social issue, an ailment that is impacting us all more acutely than ever before. Where Guthrie and Dylan wielded folk music as a weaponized medium against political targets and a soapbox for espousing radical concepts for social change in a format that could be easily understood, Amram uses the relatability and inherent authenticity of the style to hone in on the plight of individuals impacted by an apolitical adversary, loneliness, while celebrating the resilience to overcome this challenging moment in history.

“Overtime” is a sparse acoustic number built around simple strumming and a workmanlike beat that provide just enough accompaniment for Amram’s urban drawl, allowing the buoyant but bored-stiff delivery to accent his reminiscing on life before isolation. Words drift lazily like motes of dust along sunbeams through single pane studio apartment windows, settling with a sigh on timeworn furniture piled high with memories instead of reclining friends. Like many, Amram has been spending this time alone working diligently on personal projects, pouring the now abundant hours into works of expression occasionally punctuated by saudade nostalgia breaks remembering “the old days when we used to dance all night.” But as isolation and social distancing settle in as the new normal, our close-knit communities have to deal with the presence of nagging separation anxiety. In the dark, in the silence, “the machine is working overtime” as we focus on increased productivity and attempt to ignore a constantly whirring mind that just won’t shut off.

Shot entirely from Amram’s personal corner of Brooklyn, the video for “Overtime” is a personal snapshot of his time in isolation. Beginning and ending with the train slowly trundling through a chaotic pile of heavily tagged buildings, the video is anchored by this equalizing symbol of essential transportation infamously fraught with problems borne from overwhelming bureaucracy. As the train slides beneath the enormous graffitied slogan “DECENTRALIZE EVERYTHING,” Amram twists a powerful political statement into an observation on how everyday life in New York has changed as a result of the pandemic’s impact. He’s not endorsing the privatization of government bodies, he’s commenting on the current state of actual people scattered to the wind, decentralized from the streets and offices and bars into the isolated safety of their homes.

Goofy rooftop dancing together from six feet apart, Mad Max motorized mayhem tearing up the suddenly traffic-free streets, and a colorfully dreadlocked man cheerfully social distancing behind the walls of a transparent inflatable bubble prove that even in the face of incredible uncertainty, New Yorkers are unflappably resilient. It may be awhile before life returns to the way it was before the pandemic, but in the meantime we’re all going to put on our masks and adapt to the new normal. In this way the message is positive. Amram, like all of us, may be missing friends and favorite pastimes, but we’re working overtime toward a hopefully not too distant future when we can come together again like we used to. The times they are a-changin’, for now we will just have to change with ‘em.

Follow Adam Amram on Instagram for the latest information on his upcoming debut LP.



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