Here is something that I paste in everyone’s comments box when I think his or her writing isn’t as ‘up-to-par’ as mine. Please enjoy.
You're off to a great start. Keep it up.
Here's a little doozy to get the high ratings I am always promised: Lay off the pot!
Oh, and try writing longer reviews. Even if it’s boring (they won’t read it all anyway), the sheer length of it will guarantee a ‘Bloody Helpful’ rating every time!’ Read my reviews!!!
Hope this helps you get that rating that we all dream of: ‘Roger Ebert! That’s A Helpful Review!’
“Pacer” by The Amps is a simple, quickly-thrown-together session of medium-fi guitar rock. The beats are simple. The guitar work, yeah simple. The lyrics, however, are very personal and sung as such. Lead singer Kim Deal, on what was supposed to be a short break from the Breeders while sister Kelly rehabbed, made the Amps as such a side project as The Pixies and The Breeders never allowed.
As simple or ugly as you wish this album is, The Amps’ only release is beautiful, catchy, unforgettable, which makes it very memorable. “Oh yeah you got me going!” -- as Kim Deal exclaims on ‘Tipp City’. Damn! She must be using a brick to play that guitar. And how she brings her emotions to the forefront.
I received this as a Christmas Present about four years ago from my sister. I was like ‘Oh boy, another Top 40 band trying to ape the grunge sound’. Boy was I in for a big whole hunkin’ form of astonishment. The first song, (It’s called Pacer) is so incredibly catchy I had to replay it five times to make sure I wasn’t off in some gay dream where I run off with the skinny guy with suspiciously white teeth. What’s magical about the first song, is that it manages to employ all its splendor in its first two seconds. The first sound of the guitar. Kim Deal’s first syllable. (Sentence Fragment THIS Grammar Checker!) The guit-playin’ always yields two or three chords, but, here comes the clichés folks!, the gut-intensity is what strikes me. This is definitely a collection of songs that must be played loud.
The Amps did tour for this album after its release in 1995. I had to work that night. If I could go back in time, I would play hooky to see The Amps. Michael J. Fox! That would be nice! (Sorry, been watchin’ Craig Kilborn as of late.)
Kim’s vocals sometimes a scream!, sometimes a beautiful lush dream. The rhythmic variations start from mellow alterna-beats to jamming punk-bashes. Take a look at the mellow-err 6th track, “Hoverin”. The beat can barely hover at the pace it chooses. It’s so heavy and slow, I fear it may fall out of thee sky! (Ever seen a C-5 take off? ) I’ve been listening to this CD for a time now. I assumed what the lyrics were on the 5th track (Bragging Party) ‘So Fill the Air with Memorizemerous!’ It sounded way cool at the time. Let’s take a look at the actual lyrics (thanks to some fan site out there):
From the valley of the missing
High lonesome, no pity boy
Bragging party just beginning
All the tales, mythic noise
No cotton, no chloroform
Don't throw me off the dorm
You know what I mean
Fur is flying, I'm on your team
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Here are hills, dales, and depths
You are what I need, to hear
So fill the air, with memorized breaths.....memorized breaths….
And yet, I can’t get memorizemerous out of my mind.
Breaking the Split Screen Barrier: Another fun track full of experimental bar-band smoke and an alien from the cosmos! The beat is a treat and the guitar bout is far-out! (So the kids say.) And my take on the lyrics ‘180 Degrees Venus’ is actually ‘Humming Eighty Venus’. And immediately following that is Empty Glasses. Another first-rate song! It’s a out-of-control rocker in its lyrical projections and by means of its heavy-punk-pace. True to its form from its very beginning until its ultimate end. That both describes that song and this album as a hole. (Note to author: Spellchecker will not detect the misspelling of ‘whole’. If it was indeed your intention to use ‘whole’ instead of ‘hole’, please make necessary changes now.)
As all the hip kiddies in my English class would say: There is no filler here - It’s all killer dear.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.