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Amestory:
Self-Titled
Music often influences ones mood. With that favorite song to turn around a bad day or a whiny tune for a fresh breakup, sometimes we feel comfort in knowing that someone else has gone through the same things; or in other moments, we just need a warm wash of happiness. A listen to Amestory, like Nick Drake, can have the opposite effect. The listeners current mood tends to influence the way the music is perceived, therefore producing different effects upon each listen. The sparse, dreamlike quality of the music has the potential to comfort like warm, flannel sheets or to haunt one's thoughts with its gloomy under layer. Mike Russell opens up the art rock blended album with his soft vocals that hint at a young, more breathy Ben Gibbard, in North. The song hints at what is to come with its driving beat and begins sparingly with little to back Russell until the piano kicks in after a minute. This opening track brings instant interest in what this group has to offer. Perfect Blocks serves up a blend of alt-country and folk, which fits well with Russells unique vocals. Theyre Telling You You Have Been Alive brings out more of the haunting side of the music, with piano introducing the track followed by a chilling violin that floats above the vocals and pushes them to the back. I was, however, disappointed by the unnecessarily odd rapping sound that lasted for almost the entire last minute and then led into the first part of the next track. Constants picks up the intensity with the piano leading the show and the chilling violin providing the mood. The vocals here are shared with other founding member, Doug Prior, who has a deeper, more instantly pleasing voice that is more nondescript than Russells. While I must admit I was not wild about Russells vocals when I first heard the album, Ive come to enjoy the vocal style after repeat visits. The singing sounds sincere and gentle with a spooky undertone. In Scotch, the piano is reminiscent of the moodiness surrounding Fiona Apples previous releases. The vocal parts here sound like they are slightly raw compared to the rest of the album. The thing that most impresses me with this album is how they provide a tone of music that could easily lull the listener asleep, yet theyve managed to keep it from sliding too far in that direction. They provide enough hooks and catchiness to keep the listener engaged without making him want to sing and bop his head. If you like the simplistic energy of Nick Drake, the catchiness of Pinback and the vocals of Death Cab for Cutie with the added bonus of some piano and violin, you should definitely give these guys a whirl.
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