[Text/Photos by Andrew Parks; slideshow available here]
The Artist and Their Free, Buzz-Stirring EP: Amazing Baby, Infinite Fucking Cross (self-released)
What’s Been Said: “Witness the reinvention of glam rock: sighed vocals, sizzling riffs and sky-high choruses, all delivered with the perfect amount of prissiness.” – Rolling Stone
“These Brooklynites have been together since Christmas and only started their MySpace account in February but, somehow, they already sound like they could take on the world. And this half-hour set of psych-rock suggests they’re going to win hands-down.” – NME
“We’ve been known to enjoy music that sounds like it either comes from outer space or the bottom of a bong, so when we were presented with New York’s Amazing Baby, who sound like Bongs In Space, it didn’t take long to decide that they were pretty great.” – The FADER
“…on their website, under the heading “About Amazing Baby”, there is a photograph of a mushroom cloud after an atomic blast. Like, heavy, man. But they’re no space cadets. They know what they’re doing.” – The Guardian
Our Take: From the start, guitarist Simon O’Connor and singer Will Roan (Amazing Baby’s co-founders, and the center of their space rock opuses) have treated their tracks like the some grand, earth-shattering statement. While we certainly appreciate a Brooklyn band with lofty aspirations–aspirations that reach well beyond playing Union Pool or headlining the Music Hall of Williamsburg–Amazing Baby’s constant state of evolution, in the public eye over the past six months, has meant some missteps. The worst of which appears to be behind them, like the time they brought Spiritualized-channeling backup singers to our CMJ party.
Hypeworthy? Yes … if Amazing Baby’s imminent album (due out in June through–we think–Vice) delivers on the promises of the following standouts from Friday night’s Bell House set: the steady, road-tripping groove of “Pump Yr Brakes,” the actual hooks of “Head Dress,” and the shaman-like exorcisms of “The Narwhal.” Taken together, we definitely saw glimmers of a good, maybe even great, album in these guys.
[audio:http://www.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/audio4/Bayonets.mp3] [audio:http://www.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/audio4/Pump%20Yr%20Brakes.mp3] [audio:http://www.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/audio4/02%20The%20Narwhal.mp3] [audio:http://www.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/audio4/03%20Supreme%20Being.mp3] [audio:http://www.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/audio4/04%20Head%20Dress.mp3]
