Amoroso

Amoroso
December 4th, 2007
The enigmatic duo Amoroso began playing together in Boston in 2004. For a band with no singer, no label, no official website, and no song titles, they have created quite a buzz in the Northeast due to their positively electrifying live performances. George Welch (guitar, miscellaneous instrumentation) and Bill Sullivan (drums, miscellaneous instrumentation) play a manic concoction of rock, metal, blues, psychedelia, and whatever else is on their telepathic minds at the time, rendering this written description more or less futile. This band must be heard (and seen) to be truly understood. Imagine, if you can, the Mars Volta sans vocals and condensed into a two-piece, but with an even more bizarre selection of additional instruments, such as the xylophone and the glockenspiel. The band’s first self-released EP was recorded live in two days and consists of four songs only identified by their track times, such as the epic closer “11:38”. Over the course of these eleven minutes, the band shifts seamlessly between its rhythmic and dynamic changes, with both members alternating as a rhythm section. Confused? Become enlightened as you witness them in action when they open for We Are Wolves at the Middle East on December’s Zig-Zag Live Tour.
www.myspace.com/amorosomusic
Story By Andrew Lutwin
- Zig Zag Live

CD OF THE MONTH


Amoroso — Amoroso
Recorded by Seth Manchester
Mixed by Keith Souza and Seth Manchester
Mastered at Peerless Mastering by Jeff Lipton




The members of Amoroso are good at non-verbal communication. For instance, the band's lack of a singer doesn't prevent their music from being at once accessible and challenging. But more to the point, they've opted out of actually titling their new EP, and for their song titles have decided to eschew the alphabet entirely, listing instead the run times of each of the four tracks: "11:11," "1:52," "5:48" and "11:38," respectively. Once again, no words, but their structural approach is clear. The record features two epics, divided by two tracks of more modest scope.

"11:11" takes its time getting started, with a slow build leading into a sparsely punctuated, lazily teetering riff. So when the song kicks into full gear you jump to attention: the band's masterfully executed ebb-and-flow dynamics alternately lulling and smacking you into a deep, dark place. The track covers a remarkable amount of ground dynamically, but never fails to keep the listener enthralled, using all 11 minutes thoughtfully, ultimately providing interesting variations on the main melodic figure without once falling back on stock-riff wankery.

"1:52" provides a contemplative breather between the epic opener and the driving, intensely rhythmic third track. "5:42" features a choppier, but just as well-executed, soft-loud arrangement. Towards the end of the track, the guitar becomes a rhythm instrument, with ferocious, string-muted scraping that features the most tasteful and effective use of a flange pedal that this reviewer can remember encountering.

If one manages to listen through to the last track without being blown away by the air-proof tightness of Amoroso's rhythm section, "11:38" will quickly correct that. Like its sister epic at the record's beginning, the closing track is divided into several long sections at either end of the dynamic spectrum. But whereas the loud sections of the opener mainly play with variations on a theme, this track is all over the place. One particularly intense section is followed immediately by a dreamy, single-note guitar figure doubled on the xylophone, establishing a wonderful tension with furious 32nd-note snare hits. After the return of the same intense section later in the track, the drums and guitar fall away to reveal a rolling, watery bass figure — an unexpected right-angle turn that drops the listener off at an unforeseen, but appealing, locale before fading off into the distance. (Self-released)

www.myspace.com/amorosomusic

-Jon Carter

http://www.performermag.com/nep.recordedreviews.0708.php

- North East Performer Magazine

I reviewed these guys just a few months ago, so I really had no intention of doing another piece on them tonight. I mean... what more can be said about a band that the internet seems to know nothing about? They've got no CD, so I can't talk about that... no website with any biographical information that I can reference... they do have a myspace page with 2 songs available for your listening pleasure-- eloquently entitled Song 4 and Song 1. And, on that myspace page, they fascinatingly list their influences as "good music, bad music...good people, bad people."

So what more can be said?

Well, quite simply... This band kicks ass and you should make it a point to go see them.

It's definitely hard to pin Amoroso down. As I wrote before, they sound to my ears like a marriage of post rock, metal, and progressive rock, but it's so much more than that. It's so much more than a guitar, a bass, and a drum set. Amoroso's music is a living, breathing beast. I can't think of any other way to put it.

Many musicians exhibit virtuosity by littering their songs with screaming guitar solos and notey riffs. But that concept, it seems, has never crossed the minds of Amoroso. They are slaves to the music, and the music has decided that individual pretentiousness just isn't in the cards, and that the remarkable talents possessed by this trio should serve a more noble cause. Needless to say, this is a good thing for Amoroso.

Keep an eye and an ear on this band. The best is yet to come.
Related Links


http://www.east3rd.com/view/83

- East 3rd Blog

Amoroso, Trash Bar, Brooklyn, 10/29

Posted by Eric Friday, November 2nd, 2007

Last Monday night, two-piece Boston band Amoroso played the stage at Trash Bar with only the dim lighting of a house lamp illuminating their every motion. Both musicians went shoeless, playing guitar and drums in either socks or none at all, proving their bond goes beyond music, all the way to their choice of footwear. Guitarist George Welsh picked at and wailed away on his guitar, stepping on and off of pedals maniacally and using abrupt starts and stops. Drummer, Bill Sullivan’s hit the skins with rapid crazy time signatures, bare feet on the pedals, sweat dripping from his forehead. Having only recently become a two-some (after going back and forth between bassists), they played all new material that crawled tentatively across the stage, no words, just distortion and guitar solos backed by mad and methodical drumming and they even broke out a harmonica and xylophone. The songs had no real structure, some were up to twelve minutes of dancing rhythms and blues/metal melodies moving slowly into one another. Playing to each other, eyes shut, up on tip toes, Amoroso shook the stage with their love of the music, dipping in and out of time, flowing into the audience who breathed it in willingly. And not even Trash’s free tater tots could tear them away. - Lauren Piper

..not letting the momentum of the evening down was Amoroso, also in from Boston. Performing as a duo of guitar and drums, Amoroso unleashed a furious torrent of heavy blues-inflected heaviness that recalled everything from Lightning Bolt to Led Zeppelin. With inconceivable dynamic range and a telepathic sensibility to turn on a dime, we could not have expected such brilliance on a Wednesday evening...
- The Buddha Den

Amoroso: Live At The Paradise, Boston, MA
Concert Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2006

View Photo Gallery
posted Thursday, September 21, 2006
tags: post rock, rock, progressive rock
It's pretty rare that the opening act steals the show, but in my mind, that's exactly what happened on Wednesday night at the Paradise.
Review by Dave Anastasi

Having grown up in Philadelphia, Amoroso always meant one thing to me: rolls. Amoroso's is one of the oldest and most distinguished baking companies in Philadelphia, and are famous for having created the best sandwich roll on the planet. If you've eaten a cheesesteak at Jim's or Geno's in Philly, you've eaten an Amoroso. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it.

However, since Wednesday night, Amoroso has taken on a new meaning with me.

I had been looking forward to seeing Apollo Sunshine in concert for quite some time, after hearing so many good things about their live shows. The last thing I expected was to be blown away by the opening act and unimpressed with the headliner.

The internet doesn't seem to know much about Amoroso (maybe we can change that), but I can tell you that they are a very promising Boston-based band. Their style of music is a bit difficult to pin down— it's instrumental, and it tip-toes the blurry lines between post rock, hard rock/metal, and progressive rock. They've got the atmosphere of Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky, the intensity of King Crimson, and the precision of Tool. Most importantly, they've got some serious talent. The bass and drums in particular are incredibly tight considering the complexity of the material they play.

If you're a fan of the post rock genre, and are looking for something a bit edgier, give Amoroso a try. You won't be disappointed. - East 3rd Blog

On its way up
Considering that the band Amoroso doesn't have a big label, a real website, an album (the group swears it's on the way), or actual song titles, it's doing quite well. Dave Anastasi, a writer for East3rd Blog, which reviews small music shows around town, has praised the group for its impressive live gigs and says the act offers up a good dose of quality prog-rock and metal. "Keep an eye and an ear on this band," he wrote. "The best is yet to come." Tonight at 9, Amoroso opens a lineup at T.T. the Bear's Place, supporting This Car Up, All These Kings, and Paper Thin Stages. Tickets: $7.
T.T. the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St., Cambridge, 617-492-2327. ttthebears.com [M.G.] - Boston Globe