the Amateurs

About The Amateurs
"The Amateurs are easily one of the most talented bands that we've supported on Kerrang Radio's Unsigned Show over the past few years and the new EP is testament to that fact.

The 3 tracks featured deftly show what the band are capable of and why they have such an established following here in the Midlands. Track 1 'Homesick' is a song that just oozes commercial success and The Amateurs are surely now set to move it on to the next level."
- Loz - Kerrang! Radio

Brilliantly rousing guitar-pop with echoes of Bruce Hornsby and the Range and Coldplay.

The Amateurs, winners of Kerrang! Radio's best unsigned song 2007, started out performing with Robert Plant on his Tsunami Relief project in 2005. They recorded their first EP a year later, reaching the final of the Emergenza Unsigned festival at the Astoria 2 in London.

In 2007 they returned to the studio to record Shoot Me Now, which won them the aforementioned Kerrang! Radio title. After moving to London, the Amateurs teamed up with producers the Animal Farm, to work on the Homesick EP.

The lead track of which is emotive and full of soaring vocals from Matthew Colley. Track two is the crunchy, Fray-esque good time vibe of London Sky which sees sublime drumming from Jim Holliday ably complimenting Colley's voice.
But we shouldn't ignore the spot-on guitar and bass supplied by Rich Oliver and Andrew Fletcher. Mystery Thing wraps up the EP with a swirling and affecting upbeat ballad underscored by nifty piano work from vocalist Matthew Colley.

Catch the brilliant Amateurs at the Perfect 5th in Taunton on April 9th and the Shooting Star in London on April 24th. - Lee Davis - inthenews.co.uk 20 March 2009

Homesick is a 3 song release, the debut from The Amateurs, that showcases a band who are very tight, driven by the excellent rhythm section. The Amateurs have clearly absorbed many influences to get where they are today but the end product is unique: catchy, well written and refined pop songs that will have you hooked after only a couple of listens.

The opener and the best song of the 3 is the title track Homesick. The rhythm sections kicks into a great tempo, augmented by the 70s piano and Colley's searching voice. It reminds me a little of Jackson Browne's Doctor My Eyes and demands repeated listening. The lilting, affecting melody and interesting lyrics ("you're such a long way, from where you long to be..your signal fire's out") will leave you in no doubt, The Amateurs are musicians and songwriters to be reckoned with.

Mystery Thing is the grower on the record. It intrigues the listener and invites, without compelling, commitment. Subsequently the song becomes outrageously catchy, with great vocals and a twisting melody. London Sky is one for the summer, in the vein of forgotten popsters Dogs Die in Hot Cars. This upbeat number is sure to be a live favourite.

Andrew Fletcher on bass and Jim Halliday on drums are absolutely rock solid and provide the foundation for the tunes to flourish. They are particularly good on Homesick and Mystery Thing. Rich Oliver's guitar is the perfect foil, fluently complementing the rest of the band. Not an axeman, Oliver adds texture to the songs that make them all the more interesting. In summary, Homesick is a well put together three song single that appeals to a broad audience and is going to hopefully propel them onto bigger and better things. - Robert Ledger, March 2009

From the opening seconds of the first track 'Homesick' you can hear that this is a very refreshing and interesting band. After the keyboard intro in comes a great new dynamic and rhythmic feel for the rest of the song. After which we get introduced to a fundamental distinctive voice that sits somewhere between Eric Clapton, Bono, and Phil Collins.A well-produced and well-written track, with great progression keeps you hooked for the full track. A really well captured recording of what really sounds like a band playing together.Second track 'London Sky' is the next track and such a great use of Harmonica and 'street beat' drum effects, before the change again to what already feels like 'The Amateurs sound'. Again The Amateurs manage to include what feels like every key aspect of a good Pop track, recognised Dynamics, well mixed, no necessary hook but a great feel to the song, and a chemistry between the band that is instantly recognisable. Final track 'Mystery Thing' begins by cunningly hinting at standard chord progressions before the verse begins, but still you feel comfortable that if The Amateurs were to show signs of being a little predictable they authenticate it with a continual excellent sound and trademark Rhythms. This is a band that Live would surely get any crowd dancing.


Stand-out track- 'London Sky'

Related Bands- Coldplay, Maroon 5, U2, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton,

Related Unsigned Artists- Pete Webb, - Grey Picture Reviews

Disco beats pulse like hazard lights in the rain. Edge-like guitar skitters across the sky. A distant and soulful vocal pines for home. The sound of standing on the hard shoulder of the motorway at 3am. - www.overplay.com

For those of you who don’t know The Amateurs, they are a four-piece from Birmingham UK who have supported the Kerrang Radio Unsigned Show over the past few years. They have played with the likes of The Guillemots and Robert plant and are hoping to edge their way towards commercial success.

Their debut single ‘Homesick’ will be released this month alongside a host of gigs in the UK and Prague. The band has been working with London producers The Animal Farm to create three pop-rock tracks polished to perfection. About their name the band state that “The word Amateur comes from French, and can be translated as ‘Lover Of’, reflecting in The Amateur’s motivation to work as a result of a love or passion for a particular activity”. Their passion is Music of course, and this group has told that they take their inspiration from classic pop rock such as The Beatles, Radiohead and Nirvana. - RockSellout.com

The Amateurs’ latest EP is a debut release on itunes and sees the four-piece produce some of their best music to date.

Lead track Homesick is an emotional story of someone “such a long way from where they want to be”. After a quiet start, the song kicks into life at the chorus, singer Matthew Colley repeating the line “you couldn’t leave her alone”, underpinned by an almost funky guitar riff and drumming that recalls Reni from the Stone Roses.

The Amateurs’ most powerful asset is Matthew’s voice, a fragile mix of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Jeff Buckley.

London Sky is the best offering on the EP, an uplifting anthem that would sound at home on any commercial radio station.

Before you know it, the catchy tune will become lodged in your head and stay there for days. The line “it feels good to be alive”, backed by driving piano and spiralling guitar is a standout moment in an excellent song.

Final track Mystery Thing is probably the weakiest of the three but still retains the band’s way with a chorus and soaring vocals.

The Amateurs are a refreshing change from the identkit indie seen in the pages of magazines like the NME. They don’t sound like The Libertines, The Strokes or Oasis and are all the better for it.

They simply produce memorable, melodic guitar anthems – not an easy task – and deserve to go far. - Adam Burling, Kidderminster Shuttle

You only have to listen to the first few bars of any song by the Amateurs to realise just what an unjust place the world is, these guys should have made it big years ago. The band’s chemistry is rare, you can clearly hear their musical influences (The Beatles, Guillemots, Coldplay) in the perfectly layered melodies of Mystery Thing and the soul lifting London Sky. The closest they come to pensive is the line in Homesick “I never really understood why people ran away, when time outruns the lot of us every single day” showing the kind of insight the band has developed over years of honing their craft.

To see them live is exhilarating, you can feel their energy emanate from the stage and be absorbed by a thrilled audience. Matthew Colley himself is enthralling with the kind of pure emotion reserved only for the truly honest and great, put-it-all-out-there, front men. With Andrew Fletcher on sulky bass, Rich Oliver’s guitar sailing over each song and drums by Jim Holliday pulling the band together, in the last 18 months they’ve gone from being really good to a truly tight foursome.

If you get the chance, see them live, and if you can’t, down load their music from itunes, become a fan on Facebook, so when they do make it you can gloat to your friends that you “heard them when…”. With any luck they’ll play a venue near you, and it’ll be worth waiting for, trust me, the experience is almost religious. - Bethan Howe - BBC

"Now this is a bit of an odd cove. The Amateurs seem just like any of those other so-called indie rock bands who specialise in slow build ups, swooping choruses and epic melodies. You know, the Coldplay, Snow Patrol ilk of dull as ditch water music. But, somehow or other, and I'm not sure how, The Amateurs are actually rather good.

How this has happened worries me, as I'm normally immune to this kind of malarkey but the title track which has Snow Patrol Jnr written all over it, has lodged in my brain quite incessantly. B-side 'London Sky' is a Deacon Blue cast off which should have me looking out a packet of fire-lighters, but I've been humming along in a manner quite unbecoming. Even C-side 'Mystery Thing' is a melodic slice of adult contemporary that is quite engaging.

I'm thoroughly ashamed of myself but the West Midlands based outfit have managed to batter down my defences. They are destined for hit single status and there is nothing I can do to stop it. Gits. This is a downloady thing so pop off to their website and choose your preferred downloady operator." - the-rocker.co.uk

"What's in a name eh! Well clearly in the case of The Amateurs it means f***-all! With 'Homesick' The Amateurs demonstrate that they are far from being beginners; 'Homesick' is a richly worked song that's got massive commerciality and totally belies their name.

Driven by crisp, pointed, metronomic 'percussion', sensitively appointed bass, bright guitars and subtle keyboards, 'Homesick' is stacked out with musical professionalism. Impassioned, crystal clear vocals bring the words beautifully to the fore and paint the picture as if with broad, brisk brush strokes.

'Homesick' is accompanied here by two more similarly impressively turned out indie rockers in 'London Sky' and 'Mystery Thing'. Both suitably charged and up for the job either as 'B' sides or actually good enough to be the frontrunner. Birmingham indie rocksters The Amateurs show class and quality; their sound is full, rich and exciting and The Amateurs unified 'ear' for a good pop/rock song is as good as anybody's.

'Homesick' clearly shows that The Amateurs fully deserve a place in the 'mainstream' music scene; commerciality combined with a signature sound is a rare thing but The Amateurs seem to have it in abundance. 'Homesick' by The Amateurs is surely strong enough to allow The Amateurs to move several rungs up the success ladder and their strength in depth is further highlighted by the two accompanying tracks that suggest The Amateurs are gonna be a full-on force on the albums front too! Impressive work this from The Amateurs - cool but commercial, individual yet openly poptastic. - toxicpete.co.uk