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Amoeba Split - Second Split CD (album) cover

SECOND SPLIT

Amoeba Split

 

Canterbury Scene

3.96 | 100 ratings

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Walkscore
4 stars Excellent Jazzy Music.

More mature and completely instrumental, this album sees Amoeba Split explore the more inventive and jazzy side of their compositions, which they generally only did on the shorter instrumental tracks on their first album ('Dance of the Goodbyes'). The longest tracks on that first album contained vocals which dominated those songs, requiring them to have a more rock-oriented structure and leaving only a few places in the arrangements where the band could really shine. Here, freed of the need to back up a singer, the organ, flute, horns, and bass can lead, producing a great jazzy freewheeling yet clearly Canterbury-inspired music. My favourite tracks are the longer ones ("Clockwise", "Those Fading Hours", "About Life, Memories, and Yesteryears"), although there really is not a bad moment on this album. Unlike the first album, which was very mixed (even on the same tracks) here the quality is very consistent throughout. There is another great nod to the Softs in one of the titles too ("Backwards all the Time"). Those who know the Soft Machine will be able to hear the influences throughout the album, including some fuzzy organ and bass solos. However, none of the music is derivative, and the band have their own style, which is not at all pretentious. At the end of the album, you want to hear more. So, while there are clear similarities in style of composition between this album and the predecessor, particularly on the instrumental side, this album is the more advanced and a much better listening experience. I give this album 8.6 out of 10 on my 10- point scale, which translates to 4 PA stars.

Walkscore | 4/5 |

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