Emo-shoegaze? Nu-gaze? However you brand them, Amusement Parks On Fire are the new hottness, and presumably more dangerous than arcade fires. They have a serious Loveless fetish, so if you like your tremolo loud and layered, these boys are up your alley.
Stream three songs at MySpace (of course).
Anyone see them at the NY2LON showcase?
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like what I hear so far…
I like it, it sounds like revolver.
I like it, but i’m still waiting for something new to come along this year and literally blow my mind. This just seems like more of the same old same old.
Woah, a Revolver reset!
They weren’t horrible at NY2LON, but they werent particularly memorable. The lead singer has a bit too much of Craig of the Vines in him. They were nowhere near as good as the Ordinary Boys. They were amazing.
It sounds like emo with English accents and big guitars. Wait, just make that Jawbreaker with English accents. I don’t know. I thought it was going to be better. Pretty vanilla.
There are a lot of local good bands on myspace that are worth listening to, hint hint.
Hmm, The Arcade Fire.. Amusement Parks on Fire… what else are we goin to burn from my childhood??
I second the props for the Revolver reset and add a Smashing Orange reset.
bigwheels ablaze
footy pajama inferno
jungle gym conflagration
pep rally bonfire bonfire
fiery hippity-hop
Wow – so people aren’t just name-checking MBV in interviews and reviews anymore.
Seriously, tho – how’d it take so long for *this* to happen?
This stuff isn’t bad, mind you – I just don’t want to have to bring up the name Catherine Wheel for the third time in a week at The ‘Gum.
What effects pedal wielding, wide-eyed kids too young to have counted thmeselves among the record buying public 12-15 years ago have to remember is: one Loveless equalled at least a dozen similar-minded yet *not* similar-talented disciples. Back when record labels still knee-jerked to any trend, every one of these bands had a major label record (complete with the one track boasting a memorable hook, bookended by 40+ minutes of drone and moan)and then. . .buh-bye. Remember SBK records?!
But my advice to anyone would be: treat Loveless like Pet Sounds, and run screaming from anyone who either innocently or sinisterly says “Let’s make a record like…”
That said: hey – if something amazing comes of all this, great – I love music and these guys sound sincere enough. . .
This band seems too rockin’ for stereogum.
Where are the vocal melodies? Where’s the intelligence? This is bad emo with pedals. Personally I blame the rise of emo for a lot of the worst indie music in the past 10 years. These guys seem to be victims of earnestness as a gimmick. Thanks Jade Tree!
Anyway, Loveless, while a triumph of production, didn’t have super strong songwriting anyway. I don’t think that’s Kevin Shields’ forte- it’s production. What’s my point? I don’t know.
I thought they were awesome at the NY2LON show for it being their first show ever in the US. Thought they had a lot of star quality. I’m not normally a fan of that particular genre but I think they have a lot of potential. I was impressed and this is coming from someone who has no attention span for most live shows anymore. I do agree about the name but to be honest I only played that Arcade Fire cd a couple times before I was over it. Don’t get me started on Bloc Party…
I just can’t believe that with all the music that’s ever been recorded, people give new music so much more of a chance than music whose contemporary context has faded. It seems to me, and I don’t think I’m alone, that it’s easier to enjoy or not enjoy music when it’s no longer current, when one’s opinions or reactions are not sullied to a reaction for or against an artist based on p.r. and hype. Personally, I have a hard time enjoying music when it’s “hot”, for the most part, because it just seems so impersonal. This, of course, is speaking as a musician who would love to be “hot”.
Same recycled crap, different day. Not in the same universe as Arcade Fire, thats fer sure. If only they would set their instruments on fire and go pump gas or something.
i very nearly saw them at NY2LON. I saw the other three bands that performed, but APOF went on first, and I was still being all touristy and eating dinner and such. the people that i talked to said I hadn’t really missed anything special, but from the praise i’ve seen of them here, i will check out a few tracks. stellastarr* were totally amazing at that show though. and i would like to hear some of the Hong Kong on CD. they were cute live, but i could have used some more vocals. my stellastarr* pictures are here in case anyone is interested: http://sea-maid.net/pictures/stellastarr.html
Sounds like Ride, not Loveless. But the kids only know Loveless, since that’s the one they were ordered to purchase 10 years after its release. Gotta start somewhere, I know, but have a bit of damned curiosity. After you follow orders to purchase the lovely but highly overrated Loveless, take a look around, there’s all sorts of interesting stuff that happened in the same vein and era…
Hmm, listening now… Swervedriver meets Sigur Ros, perhaps? Don’t know where the “emo” tag came from, honestly.