REVIEW: Amen, Sunglow (Primal Music)
- Chris Hill
Amen's U.S. debut, Sunglow, culls tracks from their two European releases, Silver & Lakefront, to form an eleven song compilation, filled with languid vocals, trip-hop and industrial rhythms, and a refreshing joie de vivre.
Johan Israelson and Carl-Michael Herlofsson write their songs with lazy focus, meshing samples, rock guitars, ambling beats, and percussive thunder into a heady mixture, no doubt fueled by Johan's "intense love of smoking pot" (according to the press release). "Bonzo," a 2:28 instrumental of sampled laughter and cavorting synthesizers, proves that isn't an idle claim, and if substances help in their creative process, more power to them.
As with the similarly substance-fueled Screamadelica by Primal Scream, there's a indolent lack of urgency to both the music and the vocals. "Half Way Inn," with Caméla Leierth on backing vox, exemplifies this amiable bliss. Acoustic guitar, scratching and sampled chimes play against the ecstatic lyrics: "Come/I just want to feel/Feel the spirit of the Half Way Inn."
Sunglow inspires a sense of déjà vu at times. "Please" combines a Nine Inch Nails synth riff with singing that fades in and out of easy intelligibility. "Totally high/totally free/totally drugged/totally me / totally wrong/totally right/totally strong," comes through loud and clear, though fortunately the repetition works for emphasis, instead of annoyance. "Pain Day," another tune reminiscent of early NIN, begins with a subterranean bass bubbling under the surface of a snare-driven beat, leading to a choppy, dark guitar and a punchy, memorable chorus.
In fact, most of Sunglow's choruses set their hooks on first listen: a trademark of good pop music. "Dryer" uses the nonsensical yet effective "dryer/dryer/dryer/against my skin" for a chorus, after starting with notable synthesized sirens that switch from alarm to air raid. "We will shine/casual love/we will shine and rise above" simply and ably anchors "Casual Love." "Justify" sees Johan's voice rising to a falsetto for the chorus, jibing well against the deeper-voiced verses. "Vacuum," a personal fave, builds inevitably and cinematically to its own pulsating chorus.
Catchy and agreeable, Sunglow makes one of the best roadtrip CDs I've heard this year: music which makes the miles fly by unnoticed. For more band info, go to http://www.primal.se/ .
