Amends - Tales Of Love, Loss, And Outlaws album review

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"It’s impressive, the dexterity with which the band play into the smokiness and sleaze of their Southern influences..."

Amends
(Image credit: Supplied)

AMENDS
Tales Of Love, Loss, And Outlaws
RESIST


Meddling fierce emotional strain with raw, whiskeyed angst à la belting blues-rock riffs, Amends hit a staunch ream of jaw-dropping highs on the suitably titled Tales Of Love, Loss, And Outlaws. It’s impressive, the dexterity with which the band play into the smokiness and sleaze of their Southern influences – hadn’t we known any better, we’d swear these Western Sydney vagabonds were hard-worn Nashville lifers. 

The tense emo slick they pierce it with fits unyieldingly, too, injecting into the mix a pertinent sense of umbrage and despair that makes their songs infinitely more impactful. Top-loaded with hits, our choice pick is the Laura Jane Grace-starring “Walking Backwards”, a barnyard banger carried by bold and balmy semi-hollow jutting, roaring harmonicas and deeply emotive, duelling vocals.

Ellie Robinson
Ellie Robinson
Editor-at-Large, Australian Guitar Magazine

Ellie Robinson is an Australian writer, editor and dog enthusiast with a keen ear for pop-rock and a keen tongue for actual Pop Rocks. Her bylines include music rag staples like NME, BLUNT, Mixdown and, of course, Australian Guitar (where she also serves as Editor-at-Large), but also less expected fare like TV Soap and Snowboarding Australia. Her go-to guitar is a Fender Player Tele, which, controversially, she only picked up after she'd joined the team at Australian Guitar. Before then, Ellie was a keyboardist – thankfully, the AG crew helped her see the light…