Amanda Lee Peers

 Amanda Lee Peers sat on a chair with a bunch of balloons filled with helium affixed to her backrest in her north Greece kitchen. The sun's rays that filtered through the windows revealed an arrangement of sunflowers. Party favors from a recent birthday party were left on the table. The guest was there to discuss a part of her life she isn't keen on discussing. It was a dark period of her life that she throws against the positive atmosphere of the room. This album with six songs "Sinner" came out at the end of last year. "This album is about the part of my life that I don't talk about a whole lot," she says. "It's the pain and the dark moments, the struggles I've had . . . But also being conscious of the future." "Sinner," is a sharp contrast to her earlier "Summertime State of Mind" EP, which was a bouncy Acoustic-laced, acoustic-infused EP that was dropped in the year 2000. It featured a "kid-friendly sound" and was a pop-rock-inspired track. Her latest work is unapologetic in its raw emotion. More eclectic, more electric, more punch. The intensity of the music leaves the listener out of breath. It's art that taps into the depths of the soul. It's a form of art that will be a surprise to those who recall Peers as the girl next door who performed pop songs on"NBC's "The Voice" almost seven years ago.