Band Name: Ammi
Album Name: Imitation
Best Element: Everything you like about indie-rock, made better
Genre: Indie Rock
Website: www.ammimusic.com
Label Name: Common Cloud Records
Band E-mail: feedback@ammimusic.com
Oh yes, Common Cloud. You’re probably tired of hearing us rave Common Cloud releases by now, but that’s only if you haven’t actually checked out the bands we’re raving. If you did, in fact, go listen to Thin Cities, The Felix Culpa, or Ammi, you would understand why we keep loving their releases.
Yes, you’d understand that we like Common Cloud releases because they’re all fantastic. Ammi’s Imitation is no exception- like labelmates The Felix Culpa, they’ve taken their genre of choice and infused life into it. In Ammi’s case, the genre is hip, Strokes-ian indie rock. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Ammi is right up there with the Strokes in terms of simple creativity. It’s unfortunate that Ammi didn’t have an extremely poppy, populist first album to push them into the public eye before they started delivering indie-rock goodness.
Indie-rock goodness is what they deliver, with gritty, crunchy guitars, jerky stop/start rhythms, and the occasional high-hat-heavy dancebeat. The vocals alternate between wry spoken-word, sung vocals that range from entirely calm to totally desperate, and an injured yelp that covers the places where yelling/screaming would usually go. The yelp doesn’t appear too often, thankfully- they rely on other means of intensity.
The songwriting here is the real treat, as it is the place where they decide to get creative with things. You won’t be surprised by the vocal melodies too often, and that’s a good thing, as you’ll sing along. But when Ammi starts stringing together dissonant chords, chords that don’t belong together, and notes that aren’t even chords in a completely cohesive manner (“Screwtape,” for example), that’s where the joy of the album appears. That’s not the only paean to Ammi’s songwriting ability: their use or auxiliary instruments is highly commendable. They use organ, trumpet, and synth in a way that feels completely natural, which is hard to say of many bands.
Ammi’s keeps the listener in a state of expectancy by mixing up the pace and mood of the album. While the dark, dissonant overtones persist throughout, songs like title track “Imitation” and especially “The Somnambulist” are slow, pensive tracks that showcase the angst that Ammi can control. “When It Falls Apart” shows off the fact that Ammi’s guitarist can write a completely interesting mid-tempo song solely with unaccompanied guitar chords and rhythm, while “For What It’s Worth” sounds melancholy without sounding cheesy (although they flirt with the edge on some dangerously bright synth noises), and the repetitive “The Ascent of the Prodigal” builds from humble, minimalist beginnings to a intricate, celebratory song with a electronic/hip-hop vibe.
“Static” represents everything I like about indie-rock: snarky bass line, herky-jerky guitar line, intense but restrained vocal line, group vocals, nonsense syllables to sing along with, a slow build-up throughout, and a rocking part that you can throw your fist up to and possibly even mosh to. They know how to construct a song people will like but still completely blow people away, which is a gift that not many bands can claim.
Ammi has enough high moments on this album to make this review continue on for about another page, but I’ll leave them to you to find. Just know that if you miss out on getting in on the Ammi action, you’ll feel left in the cold when they go and get big. Ammi has all the pieces together- if they hit the road and hit the blogs, they’ll be in a dead heat with The Felix Culpa to be Common Cloud’s first breakout artist. Until then, they’ll rest on the laurels of this fantastic debut LP.
-Stephen Carradini
independentclauses@hotmail.com