The Band Explains…

We are, or were, AMPLIFIER.
We’ve had enough of all that now.
Now we are just us.

We spent a long time trying to fit in being a band in the music industry, but it just didn’t work out. Looking back, basically we were more interested in playing music together than anything else. That kind of approach just doesn’t work out with business. So we’ve ditched that now. We found it unhealthy for our happiness. We just do what we want. And this is what we wanted to do. The Octopus is actually a kind of experiment:

Firstly

The Octopus is an exercise in not compromising your artistic output. We wanted to prove that you can do something world class without all the interference and watering down that happens when you have a record company or in fact, any kind of third party involved with what you do.

Secondly

The Octopus is an experiment in how we relate to people in the outside world.l mean - If you really think about it - music only really exists where there is a listener. That’s where you fit in.

The Octopus is a kind of ongoing experiment in creating and evolving something much more than just some record by some band. There are no time limits to it’s growth. If you dip into it, we think that The Octopus is representative of some core values that we all share as people. This makes it timeless. We are humanistic - We are fedup with all the faceless and valueless rubbish that seems to invade every level of modern life. We want to make things of value and worth. We do not agree that cash and profit should be the overriding factor that drives all elements of existance and creative output. We think that some things are worth doing just for the pleasure of doing them and in the hope that they make the world a better and more thoughtfull place. We don’t agree with the idea that what we make can’t be grand in scale and intellectually stimulating - because people don’t want and don’t have the time for that kind of thing in their lives.

Clearly that is just a lie. We want to play our part in removing that lie.

Most importantly - we believe that ordinary people like us can make all the chances and opportunities that we need for ourselves by being pro-active and inclusive of other people who share that ideal, hopefully like you. We tiptoe a silver tightrope. To one side you fall to your death selling your soul to the money machine. To the other you fall on your sword in failing to feed your family. Maybe being in a band is even more important than both of those things. Because it is actually a way of understanding the world. And The Octopus is how we have come to understand the world.

We never intended to have a manifesto. But somehow we have ended up with one. All our future decisions and plans will now be based on The Octopus. So, Away we go….

Review

The first thing that strikes me here is how on earth an unsigned band can take on something of this weight, complexity and length - and succeed. For a long time now I have liked this band but have never been totally convinced - I’ve consitently witnessed flashes of brilliance along with moments of frustration. From a dispassionate viewpoint, Amplifier had nothing to lose but everything to gain. The Octopus therefore seems to be a do or die effort both musically and from a marketing perspective. In fact The Octopus may be the only album in many years to become its own major marketing tool/brand with its tentacles harnessing support from a worldwide audience.

But what about the music…? An early question from me was could this have been compacted down from 2 hours on 2 CDs to a single 75-minute CD? I think so and could have been managed without compromising artistic integrity or short/longer-term aims (perhaps even allowing for a follow-up). As the album opens I’m reminded of Pink Floyd who it appears are a major influence for this band, as are other older prog rock bands. But what Amplifier have achieved is an original, long musical narrative punctuated by great heavy rock riffs and underpinned by tangible melody and a sense of adventure rare in today’s rock/pop marketplace.

Break this down into songs and it’s then that the strength of the album shows. ‘Minion’s Song’, ‘Interglacial Spell’, ‘The Wave’, ‘Planet Of Insects and ‘White Horse At Sea//Utopian Daydream’ from the first CD are all excellent songs in their own right and some of the best from any UK rock band in 2011. Production values are incredibly high for a self-funded album and so this works on several levels with the potential to appeal to serious lovers of rock.

My only criticism therefore is its length which has the potential to turn the listening experience from engrossing to a tad boring… Think Dark Side Of The Moon in terms of length and timelessness. The Octopus is different of course and not yet of such enormity, but there’s an interesting future emerging here for a band who have been underground and undervalued for far too long.

4.5/5

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