Sunday, July 20th, 2008
Sunday Cleaning – Volume 95
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Adam & The Amethysts / Amethyst Amulet (Pome)
Adam Waito, as in “& The Amethysts”, might be best known to people as the keyboardist in Miracle Fortress – which is to say that he’s probably not known to people at all. But those who enjoy that project’s swirling pop classicism would be well advised to explore this particular branch of the family tree as they both share a debt to the sounds of the ’60s and a home studio aesthetic, though the Amethysts keep things more analog and organic, rooted in a folk tradition and incorporating more acoustic instrumentation. Intended as an aural love letter to Waito’s hometown of Thunder Bay, Amulet tempers a musical wanderlust with creative focus for a debut that’s playful, elegant and nostalgic and not at all averse to a well-placed burst of fuzz guitar. Adam & The Amethysts play Sneaky Dee’s this Saturday with Miracle Fortress, Think About Life and Ruby Coast. MP3: Adam & The Amethysts – “Stupid Ocean” |
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Gregor Samsa / Rest (Kora)
Take the austerity of Low, the more keyboard-driven side of late-era Mogwai and some of the fairy tale otherworldniness of Sigur Ros and you’ve pretty much nailed Brooklyn’s Gregor Samsa. Slow, stately rock of the post- variety, they differentiate themselves from their peers by eschewing guitar pedal-based dynamics for keyboards and orchestration and pairing the instrumental loveliness with ghostly co-ed vocals. Rest is sombre without being dour, and though its hazy nature does mean that it can pass by almost unnoticed if left to the background, some attentive listening yields understated yet beautiful returns. MP3: Gregor Samsa – “Jeroen Van Aken” |
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