Album Review: Amplifier - The Octopus
Amplifier's highly anticipated third (and fourth) album, 'The Octopus' has been three years in the making. And for that you'd expect a masterpiece. Unfortunately, it's not quite the word I'd use to describe this two-hour epic double album. Since their first full-length, Amplifier haven't really changed their sound, and have ended up with another atmospheric, experimental shoegaze album, an out-dated genre which really should not have left the mid 90's.
Having said that, there are glimmers of hope on this album. 'Minion's Song' is one of the more slow paced tracks, but featuring a classical piano and some beautiful vocals which are as smooth as Anthony Kiedis himself, this track comes close to what you would expect after three years in the making. Tracks such as 'Interglacial Spell' and 'The Wave' contain guitar riffs that wouldn't be out of place for bands such as Audioslave, but don't let this fool you. These first few tracks promise things which the rest of the album just does not deliver.
Title track 'The Octopus' is barely worth mentioning. It's boring, bland, and instantly forgettable. And at just over nine minutes, it's really not worth bothering with. Moving on to the second disc, 'Interstellar' is another ridiculously long track, but at least it's not so bland. With a slight funk edge to it, this song is one of the more stand out tracks, purely because it's one your more likely to want to listen to more than once. 'The Emperor' has a little more substance to it, and again features another brilliant vocal performance. With an Indie-rock tinge, this track is more likely to appeal to those of you who can't handle the longer, more boring songs on the album.
'Fall Of The Empire' has a much darker, grittier sound to it. And it works very well nestled in amongst everything else, and if you make it that far you will be rewarded. The same goes for 'Oscar Night//Embryo', which slows things right down, and the simpleness of this track makes a nice change, from some of the quite frankly weird noises, that are on this album. Final track 'Forever And More' again is nothing life changing, and ends this monster of an album on a fairly mediocre note.
Overall, the biggest issue I have with this album is the length. These 16 tracks have taken up two hours of my life I will never get back, and since only a handful of them were worth listening to, I have to say that I was glad when the end came. It's not the worst album out there by far, but considering how much hype there was from fans for this album, it's very disappointing and equates to nothing more than background music at best.
2/5
'The Octopus' by Amplifier is available now.
Official Website
Amplifier on MySpace.
Blasie Ruston
