The followup to 2015's acclaimed Picture You, Ambulance sees The Amazing continue their journey to a place where music is free of restrictions. Despite reflecting Chris Gunrup's often bleak worldview, the music is expansive and beautiful, marked by playing that’s as much free jazz as rock - pure music without any showiness. The songs unfold slowly, without a traditional verse/chorus structure, spinning gauzy webs of shimmering mystery with their own inimitable dynamic of sinuous, swirling guitars; rich, ambient bass lines; crisp percussion and restrained, church-like, keyboard textures. The stately tempos suggest a room full of shadows desperately reaching out for intimacy, but never quite making the connection. The songs brim over with tension and more implied release than actual relief. Gunrup is known for his reluctance to talk about his process and prefers to let the music speak for itself and if Picture You was brighter, exploding outward to explore the limits of experience, Ambulance is much more intimate. The mix denser and darker, the instruments pressing closer, crowding each other, imploding inward to reconnoiter the uncharted distances that exist between us, even in life’s most intimate moments. Sharing members with Sweden's psych forefathers Dungen, the album was recorded in just a few days in one tiny room at Stockhom's Buller & Bäng studio and delves into the hidden recesses of the heart, finding inner space to be just as expansive as the midnight sky. "The Amazing specialize in a beauty that isn’t airbrushed or slick or antiseptic... it's elemental rock—earthy, molten, aquatic, but uses each of their qualities to soothe rather than destroy or intimidate." - Pitchfork
S**E
A slow rush of melancholy
You'll know within a minute of the opening track whether this overcast vein of indie rock is for you. Immediately, I sensed a combination of Sun Kil Moon and "Flaws"-era Bombay Bicycle Club."Ambulance" doesn't deviate very often but its subtle changes take on greater gravity the more you spin it. A complaint can be made about the sameness of tone and tempo, though these eight songs certainly form a mood-piece. And when you're in the right frame of mind, "Ambulance" sustains that molasses-slow rush of melancholy. So, if you think Mark Kozelek's ego has ruined his songwriting, look no further.
H**T
You're here for a reason and that's because you heard something from this great band. You won't regret it
Just get it. You're here for a reason and that's because you heard something from this great band. You won't regret it. But it.
M**R
Their best album yet
Underrated perfection that can only truly be appreciated on vinyl. Their best album yet.
M**W
Five Stars
Great music.
C**R
a beautifully serene flow of psychedelic rock
5th album from Swedish band who create a beautifully serene flow of psychedelic rock that references a dreamy-smooth West Coast sound breeze. Gorgeous vocal harmonies ride on waves of chiming guitar notes in a heavenly hypnotic cloud of kaleidoscopic vibration. Includes former members of Dungen, Granada, Life On Earth!, The Works. “Ambulance” is a stunningly calm, chilled-out moment of music—a relaxing and blissful journey to the soft, warm side of melodic bong-land nirvana. It’s sink-into-the-sofa-and-quietly-melt-away music.
B**T
Gorgeously Mystifying
If the phrase 'blisfull melancholy' doesn't seem to be an oxymoron to you, you'll probably like this album a lot. The music is utterly gorgeous, with tons of distant reverb, chiming guitars and sweet harmonies. The mostly indecipherable lyrics are marred by a handful of gratuitous profanities. But lyrics are almost beside the point of this music, which is all about feel and mood of panoramic soundscapes evoking poignant memories. This is perfect soundtrack for a late afternoon drive in April.
A**R
Five Stars
Great CD; beautiful sounds
F**Y
RATHER DISAPPOINTING...
I read that this album was captured live in a studio room, with minimal rehearsing and relying heavily on improvisation. The sound is o.k. but the compositions are rather flat and boring to me, maybe the result of the minimal way the album was recorded. Their previous album "Picture you" made a much greater impression on me.
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1 month ago
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