I wish these pictures were larger but blogger is having issues. If you wish to see them full screen, just click on the image.Tuesday eve, my contest winners and I dashed through the frigid night air to Lower East Side bar Pianos to see, appropriately enough, Icelandic newcomers Ampop. Despite their place of origin, even the Nordic trio was cold, commenting that it was obviously a mistake on their part to think that New York would be any warmer than Iceland. First it’s warmer here than in New Delhi, then it’s colder than Iceland.
The crowd at Pianos was decently sized, and the quintessential NYC atmosphere of “okay, let’s see what you got,” as patrons stood 4 feet away from the stage, arms folded, clung to the air. After a few songs though, the electricity in the room noticeably changed as people began to crowd the stage and send up roaring applauses after each song.
Ampop was described to me as “atmospheric.” I expected a watered down Sigur Ros. What I got instead was a slightly schizophrenic amalgamation of Radiohead, Coldplay, The Hourly Radio and Sigur Ros laced with a pop sound. It wasn’t exactly new sounding, but the three boys in the band played with such humour, passion and professionalism that every one of the fast tempoed tracks sounded like they could be your next favourite song- they were clean, fresh and infused with some fine harmonies. The slower songs were on the predictable and boring side and did indeed fall into the “atmospheric” category. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to open with a string on them.
Ampop's new album Sail to the Moon is in stores now and is worthy of a spin.
Download ‘Two Directions’ and have a listen yourself.
Also, 'You Could Be So Lovely'
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