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Amber Pacific
The Possibility and The Promise
Hopeless Records
A
For those of you familiar with the Hopelessly Devoted To You compilation CD’s, you’ve probably already been introduced to this catchy and energetic emo/punk quintet. If not, the idea is simple really: Amber Pacific is a pleasant balance of emo and punk leaning towards the likes of Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday. The band’s sound is cool and comfortable, grounded firmly on lead singer Matt Young’s clear, smooth voice, which thankfully lacks the expected obnoxious whine of many other bands in this category.
The third track, “Gone So Young,” is a charming song about, well, angst-ridden love of course. In its entirety, “Gone So Young” is laden with the infectious, melodramatic vibe that is essential to any great, listener-friendly punk song, from the creeping intro to the rolling outro. In between the two you’ll find the use of violins to introduce the opening verse and the addition of an acoustic chorus towards the last minute, while drummer Dango brings to mind Blink-182’s “Adam’s Song” during the verses.
“Always You (Good Times)," previously released on both Amber Pacific’s EP Fading Days and the fifth installment of the Hopelessly Devoted To You collection, takes the final bow on this record, a bursting four minutes and eight seconds of passionate power-punk flavored with classically simple and sweet lyrics;
Good times last forever/I’ll keep my heart with yours/for every minute I am gone/Swear you’ll never leave me/I’ll be there every time/In your heart and in your eyes.
Amber Pacific debuts with youthful exhilaration and has successfully crafted one of those CDs that gratifies more and more with each listen.
By Kiki Alexander <http://www.themusicedge.com/cgi-bin/moxiebin/bm_tools.cgi?author=1;a=759;s=4_6;site=1> - www.themusicedge.com
Artist: Amber Pacific
Release: The Possibility and the Promise
Label: Hopeless
Format: CD
Best Song(s): all
Review By: Shane
Rating: A+
Wow, from the second I put this record in, it had such a great showing of pop sensibility with a power pop edge. It just refused to quit. To me, this style of pop punk is something that everyone knows that they love, with some part of themselves or another, but they just don't admit it to other people. Given the right push, this record is going to be everywhere, and damn well should be. If you put it side by side next to the majority of pop punk records currently on the major market, it blows them all away. In tracks like "Gone So Young," you even get a showing of their mainstream rock side. Radio stations should be chomping at the bit to get their hands on this record. If you want to draw in listeners, this will surely do it. I don't really know how else to explain it. It's the kind of infection that is good to spread. Makes you want to sing along, even though you know most your friends would laugh at you for doing so. Keep an eye out for these kids, they're going to do big things. For fans of: Yellowcard, New Found Glory, etc. - www.riseandrevolt.com
Discography
Fading Days - EP (Hopeless Records)
The Possibility and the Promise - LP (Hopeless Records)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Amber Pacific wasn't supposed to become the Amber Pacific you're hearing today -- at least, those weren't the plans from the very beginning. What started in 2002 as a trio of high school juniors who performed locally in their Seattle hometown just for kicks under a different moniker, has now expanded into a full-time, full-fledged quintet. College plans have been placed on hold, lives have become road-bound and ambitions have been placed on pedestals not even envisioned by the group in its earliest iteration.
Chalk it up to getting the right music in the right hands. While recording their second EP (which was tracked with the intention of having friends and associates hear their progress), the band's producer, Martin Feveyear, introduced them to an acquaintance who was able to get their disc in a few labels' hands. The band agreed to give it a shot and the attempt paid off -- big time.
"A couple months later, life was back to normal, we had all went back to school, and then we found out that Hopeless was interested in us. We were like, 'Wow, we couldn't believe that!'"
Putting their ideas out on the table, the college freshmen of Amber Pacific decided collectively to pursue the offer. At that same time, their original drummer had just left the band. It wasn't easy, but with a little searching, they managed to locate Dango, a Nashville native that held a degree in music, who flew out and aced the audition. With the band's roster solidified, the act signed to Hopeless in January 2004, yet had to clear another hurdle -- due to legality issues, a new name had to be locked in.
"It had been about four months of trying to think of a name and nothing was ever good," Greg recalls. "So I stayed up until about 2:00 in the morning and thought of a list of like 50 names. And so we all looked through them and still there wasn't anything good. But, Will said, 'I like the word "amber" and I like the word "pacific."' So, I was like, 'why don't we just put those two words together?'"
Immediately thereafter, the band hit the road on a West Coast tour and arrived back in their hometown to perform the CD release show for their EP and Hopeless debut, dubbed Fading Days. "It was just crazy, it was mind boggling for us," Greg recalls of the disc's release in May 2004.
A few weeks later, the band was back on the highways, this time spending their summer on the Vans Warped Tour, where they performed on the Take Action Stage.
"The Warped Tour has made us the band that we are today," says Greg. "It taught us hard work, and I'd say at least 75% of our fans we made on Warped Tour, because we were out there every day, working as hard as we possibly could. We were working 14-hour days. Even after Warped Tour was done, we'd be out in the parking lots, trying to sell our CDs to kids."
Upon Warped Tour's completion, Amber Pacific came home and immediately began writing and demoing the songs that would become their debut full-length release, The Possibility And The Promise.
Amber Pacific entered the studio at the end of 2004 with Feveyear at the helm once again. Greg says that Feveyear was earmarked for the sessions because "when we recorded the EP, we did it in four days on a really small budget, because it was all out of pocket. And we knew that he was capable of much more, because with the [limited] time and resources we had, he made the EP sound great. And so, we decided to go back into the studio with him and we're incredibly happy with the album."
An upgrade in time was in order for Amber Pacific, who ended up spending roughly seven weeks in the studio with Feveyear. Utilizing the extra time to complete their material, Greg knew that the album "wasn?t going to be half-assed ... [Feveyear] had the skills and ideas to help us out and bring our songs out more to be better."
"Our big goal was to not have any filler songs on the album," Will adds. "We wanted to be able to listen to it all the way through."
As for the album title, Will says it's just merely about Amber Pacific being optimistic about the band's future, or more immediately, the album itself.
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