THE AMBER LIGHT

Originally appeared in Feedback #80, Sept 2004

"Moody" has a good powerful intro before it settles somewhat when the vocals arrive. I'm put off by the explicit lyrics here but the music itself is excellent. It ends with over 3 minutes of all instrumental music. Nice. "All Over You" is a straight forward track with prominant drums and vocals. "Waste" sounds like a mix of 80's Pop and 90's Alternative. One of my favourites on here. It really reminds me of a Christian band I saw live once called ALL STAR UNITED. It just moves me. "Drake" features piano and fragile vocals.The lyrics are meaningful. It does build to a fuller sound. "Never Fade Out" is another straight forward, mid paced tune that I like a lot.

"The Deep Twist" is another highlight for me. It's mellow with light drums, bass, gentle guitar and reserved vocals. It just breaks me when it changes after a minute with that Post Rock guitar sound and him singing "...it feels like the knife keeps on twisting". This contrast continues. "Fire Walk With Me" is uptempo with pounding drums and aggressive guitar at times. "Still Going Nowhere" is frrom the previous EP and I agree it's not as good as the original but I love this song. It's just so emotional. "Does It Ever Get Better" is poppy but I like it. Great title too. Haha. "Play" builds to a fuller sound after 2 minutes to the end. Excellent. "No Love Lost" is the proggy one. It's dark and heavy with processed vocals before 1 1/2 minutes .Very atmospheric. Distorted guitar after 3 minutes. So much tension ! "...And Then It Stopped Raining" features strummed guitar, reserved vocals and piano. Beautiful song.

There is a reason THE AMBER LIGHT is listed under Prog-Related, so this won't be to a lot of people's taste. I originally gave this 4 stars but it hasn't held up well over repeated listens. 3 stars makes much more sense.

Now. Beware. If you didn't buy this one because you heard it's more poppy and indie-oriented, I must warn you - yes, it actually is. No long tracks, no tempo/mood/rhythm/signature changes, simple song- oriented Indie Rock album. Progheads who enjoyed the first should rather stay away or pre-listen some new tracks on band's MySpace. To be fairly honest, I was disappointed with it, and I still am. Most songs are built around simple two-chord progression, and I wouldn't bother if it only could have been less obvious...arrangements fail to save the situation too. Apart from 'No Love Lost' (nice Post-Rocky 6 min song, the longest here), 'Moody' (think of THE CURE going wild), 'Drake' (think of RADIOHEAD going sad), 'Fire Walk With Me' (think of 'Gangsters' from THE AMBER LIGHT's previous brilliant LP) and 'The Deep Twist' (think of TALK TALK's 'I believe in You') there's nothing to be completely interested in, just some average Indie-Rock songs, which scream for a better/more energetic vocalist than Loius (whose voice is amazing, but for things like songy Post-Rock). The worst thing here is new version of 'Still Going Nowhere', which is simply lame and utterly BAD, sorry, but I had to say that, it was waaay better on 'Stranger and Strangers' EP. So, have THE AMBER LIGHT died completely for me with this release? I hope no, because I know what they can, I heard that and I pray for further - read BETTER - releases, leave alone Prog or Post-Rock, I just want better songs instead of a pile of 3-min Eurovision worn-out cliches. Not recommended for Progheads, not recommended for others - check before buying, seriously

"Softly There, Everywhere" is such an uplifting, fun tune.The guitar melody is so catchy and the vocals are just right, like sunshine to the ears. I have to say that these first two songs are mood alterating, it's impossible for me not to feel good all over. "Still Going Nowhere" is my favourite track on this 4 song Ep. Again they came up with such a cool, catchy guitar melody that comes and goes. Combine this with the vocals and i'm melted.The vocals are the highlight.

"Stranger & Strangers" is the longest song by far at over 14 minutes.This will appeal to the prog fans out there. Gentle vocals are almost speaking as keys and cymbals are barely heard. That changes quickly as a full sound arrives. The lazy guitar solo 2 minutes in with organ helping out before it ends is a treat. We get an organ melody that last for 3 minutes as light drums and bass fill out the sound with no vocals. Cool section. The guitar gets aggressive after 6 minutes as drums start to dominate the sound. We're rockin' now. "Hide Inside" is done acoustically here and although I do prefer the electric version from their debut album better, the meaningful words become more the focus on this version, so it works really well.

If your a fan of the band then this is a must have. I do like it a lot better than their first Ep.

"As They Came They Slightly Disappeared" is the shortest track at 4:20 and it's pure psychedelic music. The spacey waves drift in and out until the final minute when it builds to a climax. "Calling On The Dogs" has a good beat with crisp drumming. Spacey synths are in the background as vocals arrive 2 minutes in. A beautiful guitar solo goes on and on as drums pound away. Piano melodies end it. Nice.

"Waves Of Memories" opens with acoustic guitar melodies with vocals joining in after a minute. The lyrics really bring images to my mind. 3 1/2 minutes we get a full sound for about 30 seconds until it reverts back to the acoustic guitar, synths and light drums. Another spacey soundscape. "Curved Sphere" is almost 13 minutes long. Keys and synths start us off before vocals,guitar and drums come in. A nice guitar solo 3 minutes in with piano and synths as well. The tempo and moods continue to change. Strong vocals come in. PINK FLOYD-like guitar and synths show their influences well after 8 minutes. Vocals return after 10 minutes.

This Ep is satisfying enough to search for, and with 30 minutes of music it's worth the money.

The Amber Light is 4 man band of guys just over 20 years of age. That they are quite young is simply amazing, because their music sounds so "mature". It's like you are listening to a progressive rock band with years of experience! And Louis Gabbiani's voice is simply perfect to fit the music. Very clean and velvet-like voice with the absence of any "German accent", which is maybe due to the fact that he's Italian? I really can't tell, because his English also doesn't have any "Italian accent" either. Some lyrics are even sung in Italian, giving a real international feel to it all.

All songs are simply beautiful, slowly in build up, usually with keyboard/piano intro and later on accompanied by guitars, drum and bass. Usually ending up in great melodies and great choruses blending all instruments really harmonic. The only "misser" on this album IMHO is the track "gangsters", which is quite a bit noisy and seems more like an experimental jamming session reminding me of King Crimson's "Moonchild", or Paatos' "Quits", which I both really hate. (Sorry Paatos, sorry KC)

Like John I also really like the following passage in "Tartaros", which might be one of the best track of this album; "Stumble through the wilderness you may. taking all the things that you create, stumble through the wilderness you may. diggin' all the things that you create".

"The Drowning Man In My Hands" is another epic of this album. Making the build-up really slow makes you enjoy the bombastic ending even more! I love the part where the strong melodic piano kicks in (05:30) accompanied by Louis' chorus "We travel trough the light". Wow! Simply marvellous!

Another great track is "Clock Hands Heart". Very delicate dreamy song. Lasting over 14 minutes it lacks a bit of diversity though.

All and all THE AMBER LIGHT is a very promising young band making excellent progressive rock music that will appeal to fans of SYLVAN, RADIOHEAD, PORCUPINE TREE and RIVERSIDE, but is not really comparable to anyone of them! The create their own "AMBER LIGHT" sound!

I think this album almost deserves 5 stars, but the track "Gangsters" on it deteriorates it a bit. As I also just read on their website that they have almost finished a new album I will rate "Goodbye To Dusk Farewell To Dawn" 4 stars, leaving space for some improvement.

We get things started with "A New Atlantis" which begins with 2 minutes of reserved vocals accompanied with keyboards. The mellow atmosphere is broken by some loud drums and guitar (sounds great) which have a Post-Rock vibe. The fragile vocals return and so does the atmosphere as the drums leave and the accoustic guitar replaces the keyboards from earlier. "Tartaros" features some light keyboards as things build. Vocals stand out here as well. Check out the lyrics ."...stumble through the wilderness you create". An emotional track and one of my favs. "Gangsters" has theatrical vocals, nice guitar riffs, throbbing bass and some cool sax and keyboard work.

"The Drowning Man In My Hands" is my favourite. We have these gentle vocals sounding similar to Thom Yorke from RADIOHEAD (just not as mournful) for about 5 1/2 minutes. A piano melody enters the scene that creates beauty, drums start to pound, then the vocals burst forth like the sun through the storm clouds (my favourite part on the album), then suddenly it's over. So moving. These guys have been mentioned as sounding like SIGUR ROS, and I think it's a combination of the way they let things build and the beauty they create. "Hide Inside" is another preferred song for me. It's difficult to explain how emotional this song makes me. "Clock Hands Heart" is similar to "The Drowning Man In My Hands" in that it slowly builds with vocals and guitar to start (lots of atmosphere) and then intensifies to drums, guitar and vocals, followed with an organ solo before it ends as it began. "New Day" is sung in Italian with lots of mood shifts. A Post-Rock flavour 8 1/2 minutes in.

What a start to these young guys careers. I just don't know how they are going to top this.

P.S. : I originally rated this at 4 stars but here I am 4 1/2 years later still moved by this album. It may not be perfect but it is a 5 star album for me.

THE AMBER LIGHT can be described as mixture of PORCUPINE TREE and RADIOHEAD with a bit of Post-Rock.It's probably the best Modern Psychedelic Prog band,and it's also a perfect choise for Prog Newbies - The Ambers are melodical,professional and emotional.Still can't get why they are Prog-Related: they're Pure Prog!!!

Songs of the album differ from each other a lot: opening mellow "A New Atlantis" changes to nervous Floydian "Tartaros".Touching acoustic ballad "Devil Song" drifts into "Gangsters",the wildest track of the whole record (imagine a mixture of James Bond's score with KC's Schizoid Man)!!!"The Drowning Man in my Hands" is the most post-rocking track here - melloww and meditative,my favoritest,probably!"Hide Inside" sounds just like lost RADIOHEAD's hit - Yorke must work for ages to create something related!Two closing epics,"Clock Hands Heart" with awwesome psychedelic mid-part,and "New Day" (Italian lyrics!!!) ,show the band's ability to create long but no way boring tracks - they'll never let your attention go!!!

Highly recommended for those who don't believe in Modern Prog - this record will make you a huge fan of it!!!