The Amphetameanies
Now that’s what I call…The Amphetameanies
In its heyday, Ska was a genre that personified multiculturalism and youth rebellion. Bands like the Selector and the Specials were the voice of a disenfranchised youth - calling for an end to racism - promoters of non-violence and acceptance, of dancing instead of fighting. Unfortunately, Scottish Ska survivalists the Amphetameanies’ most recent offering “Now that’s what I call…The Amphetameanies” only serves to reinforce how sadly lacking this energy and heart is lacking in modern bands of this ilk.
Its not that anything about this album is particularly terrible, it’s just so unashamedly formulaic and predictable that even as a devoted Ska fan I could find little to get excited about. Musically, from opener“Dutch Courage” to the intelligently titled closing track “Backbeat Fucker”, all the songs just seem to merge into a generic mass of recycled horn riffs, jangly three chord guitar and Hammond chops, and after a while it becomes difficult to discern one track from another.
Lyrically, songs about drinking, dumping your boyfriend, or liking the Specials do little to hold the listener’s attention and in a band where the average member is well into their 30’s, it all feels a little contrived for my liking.
For a band whose line up over the years has boasted members from such iconic Scottish acts as Franz Ferdinand, Bis and Belle and Sebastian, I would have expected a whole lot more. Unfortunately the Amphetameanies possess none of the flair and individuality of the bands whose members have contributed to their sound, and this new album only serves to reiterate this.
> Iain Taylor
In its heyday, Ska was a genre that personified multiculturalism and youth rebellion. Bands like the Selector and the Specials were the voice of a disenfranchised youth - calling for an end to racism - promoters of non-violence and acceptance, of dancing instead of fighting. Unfortunately, Scottish Ska survivalists the Amphetameanies’ most recent offering “Now that’s what I call…The Amphetameanies” only serves to reinforce how sadly lacking this energy and heart is lacking in modern bands of this ilk.
Its not that anything about this album is particularly terrible, it’s just so unashamedly formulaic and predictable that even as a devoted Ska fan I could find little to get excited about. Musically, from opener“Dutch Courage” to the intelligently titled closing track “Backbeat Fucker”, all the songs just seem to merge into a generic mass of recycled horn riffs, jangly three chord guitar and Hammond chops, and after a while it becomes difficult to discern one track from another.
Lyrically, songs about drinking, dumping your boyfriend, or liking the Specials do little to hold the listener’s attention and in a band where the average member is well into their 30’s, it all feels a little contrived for my liking.
For a band whose line up over the years has boasted members from such iconic Scottish acts as Franz Ferdinand, Bis and Belle and Sebastian, I would have expected a whole lot more. Unfortunately the Amphetameanies possess none of the flair and individuality of the bands whose members have contributed to their sound, and this new album only serves to reiterate this.
> Iain Taylor
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