Amusement Parks On Fire - In Flight (V2)
2/5
By: Chris Pratt
I remember there being something of a buzz surrounding this band a while back, though they then seemed to disappear off the radar for a couple of years. According to their biography (written in a hyperbole-drowned third person - grrrr!) they spent much of that lost time holed up in Sigur Ros' Rekyavik studio (a converted swimming pool) recording their sophomore album, 'Out Of The Angeles' as well as some extra material to pad out a series of accompanying EPs, of which this is the first.
The two sides of this 12" are clearly musically as well as physically distinct - 'In Flight' (taken from 'Out Of The Angeles') and 'You Made Me Realise' are huge, air-punching anthems with crunching power chords and multi-tracked vocals soaked in extra-large portions of reverb not heard since Phil Collins' solo career pre-Disney. The cheap rehash of shoegazer and grunge influences tends to sound like a proggier version of '90s indie also-rans My Vitriol, minus the melodies. On the flip, 'Of the Collapsing Light' glides seamlessly into 'Alafoss Exit' to form a twelve minute instrumental marathon showcasing APOF's more experimental, ambient leanings. Chopped up samples chatter incessantly over cavernous guitar and keyboard drones, swelling theatrically but ultimately going nowhere in the first passage, while the second introduces chiming, Mogwai-esque lead lines and a wistful choral outro which are pleasant enough but do little to warrant such an over-indulgent track length.
Evidently little of Sigur Ros' mastery of glacial musical construction rubbed off on these Nottingham fellows, who end up sounding like they've spent their time shopping for expensive effects pedals rather than bothering to write some tunes.
Artists in this article: Amusement Parks On Fire
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