Amplifier
The Astronaut Dismantles HAL EP

Ampcorp/SPV

Rating: 4/5

From this Extended Play, the follow-up to their début Amplifier, one might never have guessed at the problems bubbling below the surface. Granted, their début had a troubled birth, but arrive it did, being later re-released on SPV. The Astronaut Dismantles HAL, however, was their first set of original material for the label, and it builds on the melodic inclinations of the band showcased on the first record, without sacrificing any of the music's complexity, or indeed length. The six (seven if you include secret track 'Scarecrows') tracks are as long as an album, and there's a gratifying cohesion and fluency to the package as a whole. 

From the very first note in 'Continuum', Amplifier play the space-rock card, with Sel's voice staying subdued in tone before he explodes forth with the perplexing 'chorus' break of “JUST LISTEN!”. In fact, despite its substantial run-time, there's something joyously pop about this cut, evidenced on the surreal middle-eight vocal crescendo of “que sera sera, whatever will be, will be!” where once again vocals cut the guitar wash and magnificently ride atop Amplifier's multi-amp squall. 

Other highlights include the Zeppelin-esque stomp of 'Into The Space Age' and riff-heavy single 'Everyday Combat', which has since passed into fan-favourite territory, frequently clamoured for at shows. For me though it's the aforementioned 'Scarecrows' that has the currency to go head-to-head with 'Continuum' and 'Everyday Combat'. An acoustic-led number, it shows Amplifier thoroughly out of their comfort zone, stripped-back and at some of their most emotionally affecting. They wouldn't employ an acoustic in the same way until The Octopus' 'Oscar Night', and even then the subtle atmospherics achieved on 'Scarecrows' would be lost. 

Though Insider undoubtedly had its moments, it's hard to see how Amplifier ended up there based on this release; stories of label pressure, time- and budget- constraints aren't hard to dredge up, so if anything it once again vindicates their decision to go The Octopus alone, as if the quality of that album weren't reason enough on its own. The Astronaut Dismantles HAL is a worthy, indeed essential addition to Amplifier's body of work, and it is too often overlooked for being 'just' an EP. Call it a 'mini-album', call it what you like; just don't make the mistake of missing out on it. 

The Octopus Cometh....

Amplifier

The Octopus

Ampcorp

Release Date: 31/1/2011

Rating: 5/5

So it's finally here. The Octopus. Two hours and five minutes of music. Dear God.

It's pretty difficult to marshall words, such is the scope of this record; it's quite simply massive, both musically and conceptually. Along with the album comes a comic of the story, which ends simply with the words 'the beginning is important in all things', as well as a block of text explaining the concept of the record. By iterating and replacing letters with symbols, gradually the text dissolves into nonsense, and only ends with the credits page. I think it's about entropy, but it could equally be about the evolution of mind; I'm not really sure, but either way it's just the kind of high-minded conceptual art that is a breath of fresh air after years of vapid electro-indie.

The songs themselves are a mixed bag; “well ha, fucking ha!” mocks Sel in 'Golden Ratio', a track beholden to Amp's early period, while 'Fall of the Empire', and the title track are a darker, heavier evolution of their earlier records. Cuts like 'The Emperor' are equally similar to the mood and style of Insider, but the newer, heavier Amplifier definitely predominates. The riffs will be familiar to long-time fans, but the orchestral grandeur and huge harmonies are largely a new phenomenon. In any case, it's very welcome to have sprawling space-rock tracks like 'Interstellar' and the massive closer, 'Forever and More' in the mix, for they add the textural diversity that was perhaps found wanting on Insider compared to their début.

Between the two discs there's a change in feel too; Disc One, for the most part is the more 'classic' Amplifier sound- 'Planet of Insects' in particular sounds like nothing so much as an Amplifier track.  Most of the songs reflecting pretty much how Amplifier have been sounding live for the last two years; there's even a piano coda after 'White Horses at Sea' by live keyboard player Charlie Barnes to illustrate this fact. It's all just as atmospheric as before, but if anything rather more driving and perhaps a little less psychedelic. There's less of that Gilmour-esque reverb-fuzz-wah combination and I'd hazard that the bass has come up in the mix somewhat, no bad thing.

Disc Two, on the other hand kicks off with the scratchy and strange 'Sick Rose', a marked change from 'Trading Dark Matter on the Stock Exchange', which in its most Soundgarden-y moment (think 'Just Like Suicide') even includes a power-stance ready shred passage, stylishly executed. To suddenly emerge into a drifting web of heavily effected guitar textures is somewhat disorientating. The disc continues this general theme of wrong-footing the listener, and there's even an acoustic guitar taking the lead (shock horror) on 'Oscar Night' (no relation to Oceansize's recent 'Oscar Acceptance Speech'), to my mind the first time since 'Scarecrows' from The Astronaut Dismantles Hal. On 'Bloodtest' a brilliantly nuts drumbeat drills its way into your forehead while stereo guitar nonsense ensues, and though the average length of songs on the second disc is longer than those on the first, to my surprise it passed a lot more effortlessly.

These are of course, after four days of listening, only really first impressions; nevertheless, what emerges clear as day is the fact that this is the best album Amplifier have yet made, and that the listener who cares to (or, indeed has the patience to) untangle its substance will be rewarded. Whatever it is or isn't about, it's fantastic. What's even more amazing about the whole thing is that whilst it was created without any label support, entirely in a DIY manner, it's still so perfectly-formed and fully realised. There's not a note or cymbal crash out of place, and they should be proud of just how accomplished this album is. Absolutely bloody brilliant, there's no two ways about it.

The Octopus is here....

Some of us have been waiting upwards of three years for this moment. Right now I'm holding Amplifier's monster Octopus in my hands, and I'm just getting ready for the mammoth task of reviewing it. Unfortunately, with today being the end of term and all, I have an existing engagement with the Union Bar. Consequently, you're going to have to deal with a 'first listen' analysis for now, so here it is:

Part One: FUCKING AWESOME

Part Two: FUCKING AWESOME

Artwork: FUCKING AWESOME

Packaging: FUCKING AWESOME

I'm not biased or anything, it's just really fucking good.

Highlights from first listen: 'The Octopus', 'Planet of Insects', 'Interstellar', 'Forever and More'.

Word.

Amplifier
Eternity
Ampcorp
Rating: 4/5

Eternity, a retrospective mini-album of material from the "proto-genesis of the band" (in the words of frontman Sel Belamir) was released as a ten-year anniversary present for the fans, giving them some new material (however old) while they wait for next year's Octopus double album. This is one of those records that 'grows on you' in the classic sense; at a first listen a couple of the tracks from this will grab you, but it's not until the fifth or the sixth that the noises on the stereo finally coalesce into something coherent. By that point, needless to say, you are hooked.

Starting the show is 'Amplified 99', a fast- paced rocker that lays the foundations for their first-album single 'The Consultancy'. Even at this early stage, in the middle eight the trio show their desire not to be overtaken by their grunge roots, and a hint of their later, more soundscape-y offerings is suggested. Other tracks like 'Area 51' and 'My Corrosion' (which bears a slight resemblance to 'In My Body' from the CR-04 disc of the Smashing Pumpkins' last album, Machina II) sound considerably more developed, and are probably from the cutting floor of their debut, Amplifier.

The last two tracks are heavily indebted to last-album Soundgarden, and in particular, 'Number One Son' is heavily in thrall to 'Boot Camp', the closer of Down on the Upside. A very Dave Gilmour-style guitar solo completes the song, but forgetting its heritage it's worth saying that the solo is pretty sensational in its own right.

Possibly the most interesting track is 'The Ways of Amplifier', which samples the drum loop from 'Inertia Creeps' by Massive Attack (from the seminal Mezzanine), and will give fans a whole new perspective on the influences and song writing technique of the band. It is more than just a rip-off or cover version; from the basic hook a new song is built, remarkably something even darker, and the waves of distortion serve to give it a similar claustrophobic, sinister air to the original, but arrived at by a different route. All in all, an interesting and highly listenable collection, and certainly a fan must.