Amplifier: Octopus

I thought I’d review something a bit unusual this time, and I came across something quite...interesting. Mancunian Alternative rock band, Amplifier, have just released their third album ‘Octopus’, and I have to say I was quite taken aback by their music having never heard of them before. It’s a fairly large album, with 16 tracks, and one song clocking in at eleven minutes, but you don’t actually realise that you've been listening to them for so long because they're so unusual.

The album opens with a purely instrumental track, it has an odd mixture of noises like footsteps, and something which I think is supposed to resemble the sound of a bird. It even has occasional moments of silence before another lot of strange noises. I do like the piano at the end as it’s a taste of normality, which is a really nice contrast and works surprisingly well. This song sets off the album, and makes you realise that you probably shouldn’t try and pigeonhole them into one particular genre or sound; this song shows that they are, if anything, unpredictable.

The ‘Minions song’ is second on the album, and it changes the tone again, it’s mellow and showcases lead singer Sel Balamir’s pretty decent voice. He resembles Dan Gillespie-Sells, lead singer of ‘The Feeling’ possibly because he also sings in a British accent. One aspect of this song I particularly like is the almost chant like chorus, we hear ‘Sing along to the Minion’s Song’ sang repetitively, making it empowering and strong. We hear some piano played throughout, which, compared to the ripping electric guitar on later tracks, is very pleasant to listen to.

Then the album slips into slightly heavy metal, which I have to say I’m not a huge fan of, so ‘The Wave’ and ‘Interglacial Spell’ weren’t to my taste, I much preferred it when they were experimenting with sounds, and not fitting into a generic style. However, they redeem themselves with some of the later tracks such as ‘Octopus’, which keeps that unusual weirdness about it, after all, there's nothing wrong with some bells and a xylophone. You are then surprised to hear acoustic guitar on the track ‘Oscar Night//Embryo’, a nice track which again shows off Balamir’s voice. As for the final track ‘Forever and More’, it feels like they’re finishing off, it’s mellowed down and comes to a slow end, possibly a bit drawn out, but nonetheless a nice way to conclude.

The length of the songs is a slight hindrance with the album, but not to the extent that it gets boring, besides, their sound is so varied that it feels as though you’re listening to a new band every other track. The album artwork for this album is very interesting, and quite beautiful actually, it reflects their music in that it’s unusual and creative. I’m really glad I stumbled across this band; I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on them from now on.

The Strokes: Under Cover of Darkness

Ok was it just me who though The Strokes had split up? Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that they haven’t as I’m a huge fan of the band, and when I heard that they were bringing out a new album I think I may have done a little dance, but it does seem like a long time since they’ve had any new music. They haven’t released an album since 2005 so you would hope that their upcoming album ‘Angles’ will be spectacular, considering they’ve had such a long time to work on it, and by the sounds of the albums first single ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ they’re on the right track.

The band originated in New York, and has been going since 1998, with their first album ‘Is This It’ released in 2001. They haven’t released an album in six years, and Bassist Nikolai Fraiture has said that they are going back to basics with this one, which sounds rather exciting.

I first discovered the band when I saw them play at V Festival in 2004 and I was instantly hooked; their catchy rhythms and Casablancas’ unusual voice sounded amazing live, and I think the fact that he looked quite intoxicated while he was performing may have added to that festival feel. As for their albums, ‘Is This It’ is number one for me personally, because the tunes are really catchy, you can connect with the lyrics, and there isn’t a bad song in the bunch. It’s very rare that you find an album like that which you can listen to all the way through without wanting to skip a track so when you do find one, it becomes quite special. It’s difficult to explain the feeling when an album really strikes a chord with you, but for me that’s how I feel when listening to ‘Is This It’ and I definitely recommend giving it a go if you haven’t already.

‘Under Cover of Darkness’ starts with a fun toe tapping guitar riff; this gives the song a hugely energetic feel. Then Casablancas’ voice comes in and there’s a distinct change between his slightly moody, low tones from previous albums. There’s one point where he actually goes quite high which is something I would not associate with him ordinarily, but he does it really well and it’s a really nice change. About half way through the song there’s a lovely, but brief, guitar solo which again has a really energetic rhythm. The song reminds me slightly of ‘Reptilia’ because of the great guitar riff, but it does have a new, fresh feel to it as well. Where their previous songs may have been slightly monotone, this song sounds like they’re trying to steer away from that slightly, it’s lively and exciting and Casablancas is trying out new things with his voice which works really well. Definitely give the song a listen, even if you haven’t previously been a big fan of the band because it’s a great new side to them.

After listening to the song I’m even more excited for the release of the album, in some ways they’ve gone back to their roots but in others they are trying out new things and bringing a new feel to their music. I hope the album, due for release on the 21st of March, brings more of this and that they don’t stop making new music soon as I’m not quite ready to say goodbye just yet.

The Joy Formidable: The Big Roar

The Joy Formidable are a new Welsh Indie band, and oddly titled ‘The Big Roar’ is their debut album. They factor that makes them stand out from other indie bands is that they have a female lead vocalist, Ritzy Bryan, who’s strong voice blends well with this type of music and gives it a modern Blondie style, even more so because Bryan had bleach blonde hair and striking blue eyes.

The album begins with ‘The ever changing spectrum of a lie’ which, if I’m honest, sounds like a bit of a cacophony of noise at the start and the end, but in between it becomes slightly psychedelic. Bryan’s voice is soft and provides a lovely contrast to the guitar in the chorus. The lyrics are very inventive in this song; I particularly like the line ‘love is the ever changing spectrum of a lie’ which creates a strong image in your mind. I’m not too keen on the finale to the song as it drags on and seems unnecessary, but in general the song is enjoyable to listen to, and a suitable opening to their album.

One song which I particularly like is ‘Cradle’ it has a fun beat and the vocals are very strong. It is perhaps a bit repetitive but it’s enjoyable to listen to and definitely uplifts you. The video to ‘Cradle’ is very creative; the camera is fixed on a close up of Bryan on a see-saw,  and cuts between her, and various people on the see-saw with her, it’s well filmed and the rhythm of the see-saw fits in well with the beat of the song.

You get the feeling that this band likes experimenting with sound, song names, and the filming in their videos. With song titles like ‘Llaw = Wall’ and ‘A heavy abacus’ you can tell that they are unusual, and their music video’s reflect that. For instance, the video for ‘Austere’ feels a bit like you’re having a drug fuelled hallucination, with strange shapes and bright red singing lips, very unusual but actually very clever.

It seems this band has a bright future ahead of them, and they are a breath of fresh air from the usual copy cat indie bands that seem to be around at the moment. They have a strong debut album behind them now and can build on that, as long as they keep their individuality they will go far I’m sure. I think it’s great that they have a female lead vocalist as it gives an edge to their music and helps them stand out from the crowd. I'd expect to hear a lot more from them in years to come.