AMUSEMENT PARKS ON FIRE - Out Of The Angels

Few people today probably remember what a formidable band Catherine Wheel were, with Brian Futter and Rob Dickinson at the helm. Amusement Parks On Fire bring to mind many of their traits, including the ability to craft powerful, immediately gratifying pumpkinsian mid-tempos, guitars that fan out toward horizons of crepuscular sonic intensity, and melancholy melodies that emerge, liquid, from monolithic, almost drone-like distortion. "Out Of The Angels" leans decidedly on that template, adding a few far-from-flat post-rock reinterpretations to the mix.

So there's nothing more to say, really, because, as was the case with Organ, I Love You But I’Ve Choosen Darkness and Film School, just to name a few recent examples, a derivative record can still pleasantly steal half an hour of your time, especially when the songs caress the ear with such melodic grace; and surely you don't want to be listening to Stockhausen and Braxton (Antony, obviously) all the time, do you? Be that as it may, "Out Of The Angels" consists of ten compositions brimming with passion and sincerity, and while, in all honesty, no single song stands out particularly from the rest, it's also true that the overall quality level strikes us as pretty high.

Now you'll be expecting a brief rundown of the individual tracks, right? Well, today the reviewer is feeling a bit lazy, so bear with him: he suggests you go get "Chrome" and "Adam's And Eve" by the aforementioned Catherine Wheel, "Mezcal Head" by Swervedriver, "Nowhere" by Ride, and something by Mogwai, and you're all set — the band's inspiration lies entirely in those records.

That said, we'd love to see Amusement Parks On Fire achieve real commercial success, since they could serve as the classic "gateway band," needed to train the ears of mainstream listeners and lead them toward similar sounds, albeit of far greater complexity and depth.

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12/05/2006