Amoeba Teen “Amoeba Teen”
Amoeba Teen has had plenty of time to refine their sound and they’ve leapfrogged their last release 2019’s Medium Wave in a big way. The band; Mark Britton on guitar, Simon Muttitt on bass, Mike Turner on guitar, and Carl Bayliss on drums had the goal of capturing the excitement of their live performances. They’ve done a terrific job. The band splits the vocal duties and it gives each song a distinct sound and feel.
The Pink Floydian opening to “Mainstream” is the calm before the storm that approaches, as the guitar-horns blare out with a strutting glam approach that hooks you right away, not unlike Jellyfish. The party continues with “Just Not That Into You” and the Weezer-meets-Cars vibe of“New Material World.” The influences are perfectly balanced here, as is the Teenage Fanclub layered jangle of “ A Good Reason Why” and it culminates in the Fastball vibe of “January,” with its steel pedal accents. The understated “Putting The Kids Through College” perfectly describes the anxiety of middle age, and reminds me of 10cc with its strong layered instrumentation. It then cranks up the riff to “11” on rockers “Barlight Crawl,” and “King Of The Cut,” with its “Helter Skelter” styled riffs. Behind from the slick production and catchy choruses are solid lyrical stories. Overall, you won’t get bored and not a note of filler. Highly Recommended and makes my top ten nominee list for 2022.
James Booth & The Return “Postcards From The New Frontier”
James Booth and The Return delivers a sprawling combination of power pop and progressive rock, created by fan-fave Fernando Perdomo and James Booth. Truthfully, it’s heavier on the prog and classic rock side, as the opener “All That I Can Never Be” draws influences from Jefferson Airplane, and The Smiths. The guitar attack of “No Friend Of Narnia” recalls Rush and early Black Sabbath, and James’ high vocal melds well with the thick instrumentation. Often solid rhythmic beginnings like “Heartbreak Hill,” rest on the catchy bass lines, and the impressive “Message For The King” gets moving with the handclaps and buzzing riffs. The hooks really work well on songs like “The Afterimage of Love,” a psych-pop gem that deals with “the one who got away.”
Other songs (mostly on the album’s second half) don’t stick as well as the others. The hazy sitar in “Asgardia, Take My Hand” seems to stretch out the jam, as with the 7-minute long “Every shade of Emerald.” But there are a few goodies here; “Stardeath” and “I Nowhere You’ve Been” with the latter’s Queen-like guitar break rounding out the memorable tunes. Perdomo and Booth make a formidable pair, and fans of classic rock will warm to this album quickly. Check it out.
