Amanda X
To be honest I can't quite remember when I first heard of Amanda X although I suspect that once again the theory of six degrees of separation was, thanks to the twittersphere, proven...
Amanda X are guitarist Cat Park - scoring double bonus points as a fellow leftie - who plays a right-handed guitar upside down, bassist Kat Bean (the pair share the vocal duties) and Tiff Yoon on drums - three girls who play in a band. They hail from Philadelphia (so probably feistier than my fave hometown trio) and released their debut album "Amnesia" back in the summer of last year (so conveniently falling into my "bands I want to hear more of this year..." featurette) .
Apparently - according to those in the know - the album's opener "Guatemala" is the archetypal Amanda X song. Ideal for us Newbs then and as good a place to start as any. It's a song driven at a relentless pace by Tiff's stick-work and Kat's throbbing bass; Cat's manic guitar weaves in and out, leaving a trail of killer riffs in its wake... And then there's those vocals; punchy, strident, yet beautifully softened when harmonised and multi-tracked. I don't even have time to draw breath before the thumping rhythm, distorted guitar, wailing chorus of "Dream house" and a middle-eight full of "whoas" are pounding me into submission.
There's plenty more in a similar vein - Tunnel", "Parsnip" and "Woke up" all feature bucket loads of reverbed guitar and wondrous fuzziness, all complemented by powerful, confident vocals - if you're laying down a wall of noise (hint - these songs are best played l-o-u-d) you need vocals that have ** cough ** some cojones and the girls truly do deliver.
Apparently - according to those in the know - the album's opener "Guatemala" is the archetypal Amanda X song. Ideal for us Newbs then and as good a place to start as any. It's a song driven at a relentless pace by Tiff's stick-work and Kat's throbbing bass; Cat's manic guitar weaves in and out, leaving a trail of killer riffs in its wake... And then there's those vocals; punchy, strident, yet beautifully softened when harmonised and multi-tracked. I don't even have time to draw breath before the thumping rhythm, distorted guitar, wailing chorus of "Dream house" and a middle-eight full of "whoas" are pounding me into submission.
There's plenty more in a similar vein - Tunnel", "Parsnip" and "Woke up" all feature bucket loads of reverbed guitar and wondrous fuzziness, all complemented by powerful, confident vocals - if you're laying down a wall of noise (hint - these songs are best played l-o-u-d) you need vocals that have ** cough ** some cojones and the girls truly do deliver.
But there's a lot more to Amanda X than three girls playing (sweet) tunes at 100 miles an hour. "Things fall apart" sees the band go all 'poppy' (honestly this song reminds me of 80's Brighton band The Chefs). It's a bouncy, catchy number that chugs along quiet nicely thanks to a throbbing, fuzzy bass chord that ties everything together. There's some gorgeous harmonies on the slightly downbeat "Nothing wild" - the guitar work is worth the admission price alone, while the chorus of "Paranoia" seems to offer more than a nod towards The Raincoats in a quirky DIY, stumbling-but-always-in-control, kind of way.
"Low and mean" and "Trouble" make me wonder whether the band have been listening to the trilogy of Katy Goodman's La Sera albums. Both these tracks share same uncanny eye for a sweet guitars driven melody all married to the most harmonious of vocals.
And I really love the album closer, "friendly tones" - you always want the last track leaving you wanting more, as if you've been somehow cheated that the album has come to an end (solution? Hit 'repeat', even add 'shuffle' i you want a frisson of added excitement), it's a stripped down number that meanders at its own pace before fading out into nothingness - but the vocals are beautifully delivered, the lyric convey the message that there's always new found hope just around the corner and I find myself having my very own Carol van Dijk moment...
"Amnesia" is a blast of an album. Eleven killer cuts of garagey but melodic post-punk vignettes, resplendent with thrashing guitars, driving bass, pounding drums and at-times spiky vocals that are expertly crafted together into a series of faultless tunes. Alongside the fact that the girls know how to write knock-out riffs for fun, there's also a surprising depth and maturity on display here to more than suggest that Amanda X can be far more than one album wonders.
In other words just the sort of band that will always find a place in my discerning record collection.
Amanda X (Bandcamp)
And I really love the album closer, "friendly tones" - you always want the last track leaving you wanting more, as if you've been somehow cheated that the album has come to an end (solution? Hit 'repeat', even add 'shuffle' i you want a frisson of added excitement), it's a stripped down number that meanders at its own pace before fading out into nothingness - but the vocals are beautifully delivered, the lyric convey the message that there's always new found hope just around the corner and I find myself having my very own Carol van Dijk moment...
"Amnesia" is a blast of an album. Eleven killer cuts of garagey but melodic post-punk vignettes, resplendent with thrashing guitars, driving bass, pounding drums and at-times spiky vocals that are expertly crafted together into a series of faultless tunes. Alongside the fact that the girls know how to write knock-out riffs for fun, there's also a surprising depth and maturity on display here to more than suggest that Amanda X can be far more than one album wonders.
In other words just the sort of band that will always find a place in my discerning record collection.
Amanda X (Bandcamp)
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