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Ambulance
for Angeles
Viper Creek Club
Reviewed 11.12.07
Organized chaos. That is essentially what makes up the foundations
the latest effort from Ambulance For Angeles, entitled "Viper
Creek Club". This piano driven indie-rock band delivered
something I certainly didn't expect with this EP, but after
a few listens I found myself enjoying it more and more.
The elements making up the music are virtually the same
as most other prominent indie bands, but are arranged in
a much different manner. It seems that most bands described
as "piano driven" tend to be generic rock bands
that happen to incorporate pianos. In this case, though,
the songs on Viper Creek Club, with the exception of "Sweaters
for Spring", really are carried almost solely by the
piano/keyboard tracks. The melodic, yet chaotic tracks seem
to blend together into one cohesive unit. The only thing
it leaves the listener wanting is more.
However, musical construction aside, the most prominently
impressive aspect of Viper Creek Club is the pure passion
with which each song is created. From start to finish it
delivers a solid twenty three or so minutes of passionate
(both musically and lyrically) rock, drawing the listener
into their own little world where they are left to explore
the emotions and driving forces behind the music. Melodically,
each song is kept fairly simple, as they certainly do not
have the need to overcompensate for a lack of content. Of
the five songs on the album overall, I actually tended to
gravitate towards the two musically simpler tracks. The
more basic guitar, piano, and backing vocals provide a perfect
strengthening background for the leading vocals, which were
a bit perplexing at first, but slowly grew on me. The vocals
on songs like "Sweaters for Spring" and "My
Embroidered Tusks" contain a certain wavery quality,
almost reminiscent of (dare I say) early Conor Oberst. Songs
with this emotional style of vocals and the addition of
an almost campfire-esque guitar, mixed with their style
of lyrics, create an almost irreproducible overall sound
that will likely carry Ambulance For Angeles as they continue
to grow as a band. On top of that, once paired with the
more rocky, piano driven songs, it creates an even more
interesting juxtaposition of sounds and helps create a truly
cohesive (although unfortunately short) EP.
Songs to keep an ear on: "Sweaters for Spring"
& "When We Were Showgirls"
Reviewed By: Brian Anderson
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