AMPLIFIER: Echo Street (ATMOSPHERIC METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

To say that we were waiting for the successor of The Octopus is a understatement, so much the qualities of this one consolidated the hopes that we were basing on the progression of the Amplifier mancunians. The statement on the release on Kscope of a new album by the band, which has meanwhile been joined by Steve Durose (Oceansize), was accompanied by a wild expectation that the quartet would be even better than The Octopus. It is an imagery, a title and a format at the opposite of those of Octopus that we discovered before we could hear the content of the disc.

Of the raw and progressive complexity of The Octopus there is almost no trace left in the eight tracks of Echo Street, which are essentially atmospheric, psychedelic and experimental. A turn that is not bad in itself, depending on what you do with it. Unfortunately, tracks too rarely takes off and are more like improvised sessions than real melodic and progressive constructions ("Extra Vehicular" and "Echo Street"). Balamir's songs are often playful, bordering on the nursery rhyme ("Matmos"), but good ideas are not always carried to the genius of which the English are capable. "The Wheel" and "When The River Goes", to be classified between Porcupine Tree and Oceansize, are examples of this frustration.

Echo Street is also much less dark and cavernous than its glorious predecessor. If the abysmal symbol was that of The Octopus then Echo Street would be placed under the sign of light, the light flooding this street crossed by a child with a wide smile. This clarity is embodied in successful tracks like "Paris In the Spring" which can be apprehended as a city stroll while the sweet acoustic "Between Today And Yesterday" reveals a folk Amplifier with beautiful vocal harmonies. "Mary Rose" is a rhythmically lively rock that ends the album with a positive touch.

Amplifier is a generous and creative band that is used to releasing many EPs between two LPs. Echo Street is more like such an object than a successful and striking achievement. This turning point will confuse those who were waiting for at least one work as epic and dense as The Octopus. In its review, Hyperunknown hypothesized that the sprawling double concept album would be the group's masterpiece. The passage of time therefore confirms this intuition. Let's hope the acme of Amplify isn't behind him. - Official website

AMPLIFIER

ECHO STREET

KSCOPE

ATMOSPHERIC METAL