Allison grew up on Long Island, where she was raised by her parents, Mose and Audre Allison. She is the second of their four children. She has recalled to American Songwriter that, as a child, she was one of a very small number of people in Long Island who listened to country music. She has also cited Billie Holiday and Loretta Lynn as some of her musical influences.
Musical career
Allison began her musical career as the frontwoman of "Amy Allison and the Maudlins", a band that performed at Dixon Place in New York City's East Village. She also teamed up with Ryan Hedgecock to form the musical duo Parlor James in 1994. In 2010, she performed the Buddy Johnson song "This New Situation" as a duet with her father, which appeared on his album "The Way of the World". She has also performed on albums by the Silos, They Might Be Giants, and Mudhoney's album Under a Billion Suns. In 2000, fellow Diesel Only Records artist Laura Cantrell included her cover of Allison's song, "The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter," which originally appeared on the Maudlin Years, on her album Not the Tremblin' Kind. Allison later became well known in the United Kingdom from her performances opening for Cantrell on tour in 2002. Since then, she has written the opening track on Cantrell's album No Way There From Here, as well as the title track on her album "Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs of the Queen of Country Music."
Solo career
Allison released her solo debut album, The Maudlin Years, in 1996 on Koch Records. It compiled songs she recorded with the Maudlins, as well as some of her solo songs she had originally recorded as demos. Elvis Costello later ranked it as one of his "500 essential albums" in Vanity Fair. She followed it up with 2001's Sad Girl, which was described by Peter Margasak as "an elegant, detailed mix of pedal-steel-soaked country and blue-eyed soul". Since then, she has released three additional albums: No Frills Friend, Everything and Nothing Too, and Sheffield Streets.
Reception
Allison's voice has often been described by critics as nasal and high-pitched, and as an "acquired taste" that seems off-putting at first but becomes more attractive after repeated listens, or which may drive some listeners away entirely on its own. Her voice has also led critics to compare her to a wide variety of well-known country artists, including Neil Young, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Iris Dement, and "a less urbane Victoria Williams." She has also been described as a "demented Dolly Parton." Jad Fair has described her as one of his favorite songwriters. Many critics have also noted that Allison's music often focuses on very depressing topics. In response to critics making this observation, Allison said, "Maybe I do tend to concentrate on the more miserable aspects of life in my work, but it's a thrill when you have a good idea for a song, and you're doing it, and communicating. I have really good experiences performing live, with people really responding." Critics' comparisons of Allison's music to that of her father have varied. Mark Keresman noted that while Allison's music is a different genre than her father's, they nevertheless share "a similar succinctness, wry humor, and keen eye for the perils of the human condition." Billboard also highlighted the shared succinctness of her and her father's music in its review of the Maudlin Years.
