Fiona Amaka – Honesty (Psalm 139) (2025)
With an intimate aura, soul-stirring melodies, and poetic lyricism, singer-songwriter Fiona Amaka captures the essence of life experiences from the complexities of relationships to living with neurodiversity. We first came across the UK-based musician earlier this year with her single, ‘No Daylight’, and we continued sharing her work on our virtual pages with ‘Cowards and Shadows’; of course, we kept our ears on her music even when there wasn’t a review to be written. Today, we take a gander at her most recent single, ‘Honesty (Psalm 139)’. Join us, won’t you?
Following the well-received single ‘Cowards and Shadows’ where Amaka taps into the issue of “ghosting” in today’s society – not only ghosting in romantic relationships, but its further influences, including job-hunting, house-hunting, and the like – ‘Honesty (Psalm 139)’ shifts from the isolation and unease of rejection to the overwhelming, unconditional feeling of acceptance. Technically a Christian-based single, ‘Honesty (Psalm 139)’ reflects on the conversation and relationship with God; however, its folk-influenced sound is reaching far beyond church communities – a spreading of love and empowerment, I suppose you could say. Amaka explains:
“I wrote ‘Honesty (Psalm 139)’ several years ago with a more blues-based melody as a reflection on Psalm 139 and the depth of God’s one-on-one relationship with us as individuals when we open ourselves to him… One afternoon in April this year, the song randomly came into my mind but with a new and brighter-sounding melody… We’d been singing it at my church for a little while before it occurred to me that the song didn’t need to be restricted to my church fellowship. So, here it is!”
Recorded and produced in London with session guitarist and producer Andy Zanini, and with vocal production in Los Angeles by Eric Sanicola, ‘Honesty (Psalm 139)’ is a sonic flood of vintage folk music with kicks of Americana flecked across the melody. Bold drums match Amaka’s acoustic guitar harmonically, but a kick of blues flutters through the track in an interspersed banjo and Zanini’s soaring guitar riffs.
So, what’s my overall opinion of ‘Honesty (Psalm 139)’? Reflective, sincere and sentimental, the single is a warm hug and gentle caress, making you feel wanted, accepted and loved.
Find out more about Fiona Amaka on her Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
Listen to more folk music on The Other Side Reviews Folk playlist:
