MAY ALBUM OF THE MONTH
The Amorettes – BORN TO BREAK
Some albums sparkle for a moment on release day and some have the power to endure. The new Amorettes album, their most accomplished and rounded album to date, is definitely in the latter camp and I have a feeling is one of those albums that will be staying on playlists well into the summer months.
At Great Music Stories we only review one album a month. We’re not fans of critiquing everything that’s released, and personally I don’t like to write words that criticise artists. So we just pick one album a month. The nice thing is we only then need to say nice and encouraging words on the material we pick. The challenge is sometimes choosing just one album is near impossible! April has been one of those months, with exciting new albums coming along like number 11 buses.
Over the last eight weeks we’ve playlisted four different songs from ‘Born to Break’ and each has gained a great reaction from listeners of our Friday rock show. In truth, there’s still plenty more tunes from the album to swap in – and when that happens you know you have an album with real shelf life, a body of work that can really endure.
We’ve called ‘Born To Break’ early as our next album of the month simply because of listener reaction to the last two tracks played – and our decision to playlist two new ones for the month ahead.
The album opens with ‘Can You Feel the Fire’ – a full energy Amorettes banger, packed with energy, purpose and attitude that sets the mood for what’s to come. ‘Hello And Goodbye’ contrasts well with an arresting groove that could well turn this song into a favourite on the live circuit.
The album’s opening single ‘Everything I Learned’ (I Learned From Rock N Roll) is a perfect rocker for radio, energetic, uplifting and a song that’s almost impossible not to react to. The same can be said of ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night,’ which we’ve adopted as the natural follow-up for the airwaves.
The guitar changes in the title track ‘Born To Break’ make it worthy of an Oscar nomination, but the middle order track we singled out for attention last month was ‘Easy Tiger’ – a song that offers a different side to the band: It’s relaxed, cheeky but above all great fun. A contrast to the staple rock banger, this is the kind of track that breaks stereotypes and could well see the band broadening their appeal beyond rock radio and into the mainstream media.
‘Coming Up The Middle’ will probably be our next feature track from the album for airplay, to many a signature Amorettes tune that packs a direct punch in just three minutes.
After an exhausting tour de force of primal, authentic rock n roll, the album closer is a surprise. ‘I Want It Bad’ presents a more vulnerable and emotional side to the band – a song that captures a mood perfectly, with Hannah’s drum work giving the song an unmistakable Scottish character. This album closer is a lot more that a ‘cool down’ song to bring the album down. Like ‘Easy Tiger’ it gives a glimpse into the bandwidth the band can explore left and right of staple rockers. Their musical craft works in different forms and makes the whole all the more richer and actually frames the staple rockers better.
The Amorettes are a performance band and the ‘live’ character of their music comes over emphatically on this album. The music is direct, honest and free. The band know who they are and clearly enjoy doing what they do together. It comes over on every track on this album. In a word the music is alive.
In a business and media world where gender equality issues seem to be everywhere – the number of female board directors, the gender pay gap to name but a few issues under the spotlight at the moment – in the rock world there’s a new generation of female and female-fronted bands coming to the fore, shaping the scene and, in doing so, making rock music itself seem more modern, relevant and with its feet firmly planted in the contemporary. The Amorettes, have been developing their craft for a few years now but with the arrival of ‘Born To Break’ they have made a real statement and can rightfully lay claim to being one of the driving forces spearheading Britain’s new generation of rock.
Order the new album here http://amzn.eu/b2dTNUO
Official Website: www.theamorettes.com
Forthcoming tour dates
14 April – O2 Academy, Bristol
27-9 April – Silja Rocks Cruise, Sweden
25 May – The Concert Hall, Troon, Scotland
2 June – Camden Rocks Festival, London
15 September – Redemption Festival, Wakefield
