The Amazing // Ambulance

The Amazing

Ambulance

Partisan Records

3.75/5 stars

Swedish quintet The Amazing have crafted a dark, haunting work. Ambulance is their fourth full length album since forming in 2009. The tempo and tone of the album remains steady throughout, creating a tone portrait in a brilliant monochrome. The echoes reverberate back and forth, the guitars chirping out lines fit for the best post-punk purveyors of yesteryear. This album is a perfect fit if you happen to be a very depressed fan of the War on Drugs. There are rare oases of light in an otherwise gloomy soundscape, the chorus of "Blair Drager," for example. Christoffer Gunrup's vocals coincide seamlessly with the band's unified mood. He lilts out his nearly indecipherable lyrics like Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch on valium. It may be morose, but it's a beautiful morosity. The midpoint of the eight tracks, "Floating," begins a peaceful reprieve, brimming with meditative introspection and calmness. The wonderfully titled closing track, "Perfect Day for Shrimp," recalls a subdued Mark Kozelek diary entry. This ambulance must not have its lights flashing, as it rides away in slow solemnity. – Nick Warren