[Photos/Text by Andrew Parks]
Here at self-titled, we try to rage against the hype machine as much as possible. Sometimes we can’t help adding to all that nonsense, though, as bands prove the lofty claims of bullshit-driven blogs and magazines. Case in point: Amazing Baby‘s staggering growth over the past year, as the group’s co-founders (guitarist Simon O’Connor and singer Will Roan) fired/hired a revolving door of musicians and backup singers, and struggled to find their sound amid glimpses of Spiritualized and who-knows-what-else.
Which brings us to Friday’s Phoenix show, their biggest support slot gig since last year’s Bloc Party tour–a buzz-stirring moment the band wasn’t quite ready for. Aside from being the first Terminal 5 set we’ve actually enjoyed in forever, the show felt like a watershed moment for Amazing Baby’s true calling: replicating the Brit-pop-reared bombast of Pulp after one too many pot brownies. As we saw during s/t‘s CMJ show, Amazing Baby have always had reached for the heavens with their hooks and heavily-layered sound. They just couldn’t meet those goals halfway with a well-oiled backing band.
Not anymore. These guys are the real deal, and they’ll be headlining the same venues as Phoenix or their pals MGMT in no time.
