[mp3] Bowery Beasts // Amulet

Written on September 12, 2011 by Jeff in Music

4117186439 1 [mp3] Bowery Beasts // Amulet

A little self-indulgent reminiscing here: The town I grew up in had very little variety in radio stations; you either listened to country, adult easy listening, or classic rock. Even the local college station was as likely to play polka music as anything alternative. So I listened to a lot of classic rock growing up, and I still have a deep-rooted fondness for the over-the-top dramatics, storytelling lyrics, and blazing guitar riffs that dominated the 1970s.

“Amulet” fits nicely in that era. It’s a 4:40 classic-rock song that somehow was never released until this year. That it’s a new track by the LA-based psych/glam-rock band Bowery Beasts is irrelevant. “Amulet” is a 1970s beast of a track in all its ridiculous glory. Encompassing everything you love to hate about the classic heavy-rock sound, it’s a car wreck you can’t look away from, a horror movie you watch through your fingers. It’s horribly brilliant, and it has quickly become a guilty pleasure.

Starting with a quiet, introspective acoustic guitar, the vocals come in all echoed and high-pitched. How the singer ever hits those notes is beyond me, but he does, and he belts them out often. It builds and flows, with a nice electric guitar solo perfectly placed here, some “ooos” and “yeahs” there. The song itself feels like a tale spun from Middle Earth, in the best nerdy classic-rock storytelling style.

Bowery Beasts are, without a doubt, a talented band. The tracks on Heavy You are tight, perfectly produced, and pretty catchy, if not my preferred style. I get virtually no sense of irony from these songs, but maybe that’s the ultimate irony itself. Take it too seriously, and you might disregard a track like “Amulet” immediately. But for all its stereotypical cock-rock moments, it’s a pretty damn good song. I would have loved it back in my hometown, where they’re still playing Bad Company and Led Zeppelin.

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Bowery Beasts // Amulet [mp3] from Heavy You

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