The Amber Light - Goodbye to dusk, farewell to dawn - 2004
“Musically you’re free to do what you want,
and no matter where you’re going,
you will find people who are ready to follow
just because they share that same open attitude.”
intro
The Amber Light was born in the year 2000 when Louis Gabbiani (vocals, guitars and keyboards), Jan Sydow (guitars) and Rabin Dasgupta (bass) started to develop their own songs. In 2001 the line-up was complete when drummer Peter Ederer joined the band. The band released in 2002 a 4-Track-Mini-CD called “As they came, they slightly disappeared”. So “Goodbye to dusk, farewell to dawn” is their first full worthy album that can be categorized as a “Progressive Art Rock” album.
line-up
The band:
Louis Gabbiani – vocals, guitars and keyboards; Jan
Sydow – guitars; Rabin Dasgupta – bass; Peter
Ederer – drums.
review
The headline of this review is not only a quote from Louis Gabbiani but it also describes the attitude of this band. Trying to find your own way in a musical world like the progressive bands of the seventies did. In my opinion the band is influenced by music of the seventies (Van der Graaf Generator) and the new music of the nineties (Radiohead). The album has a strong opening with “A new Atlantis” which displays immediately the melancholic atmosphere of the album. The Fender Rhodes piano and the slow vocals remind in the first place of Van der Graaf but when the music becomes more up-tempo with a heavy guitar I also must think of Radiohead. “Tartaros” is one of those broody tracks you can find on this album. An in general slow melody with hectic vocal and instrumental (guitar) outbursts. The first part of the ballad “Devil song” has a beautiful melody on twelve string acoustic guitar and synthesizer flute. Most reviewers will say that the band now sounds like the old Genesis but that is a kind of “open door” to me. “Gangsters” is one of the songs with Spanish vocals. Guest John Guerther is giving this piece a real Van der Graaf atmosphere with his freaky saxophone solo. The next broody piece is called “The drowning man in my hands”. You hear slow melodies on Fender Rhodes and Hammond combined with strum guitar and waiting for the vocal outburst. The next track “Hide inside” has more up-tempo parts with distorted guitar sounds. More interesting are the last two tracks “Clock hands heart” and “New day” (both over ten minutes long!). These are the typical The Amber Light songs. Songs who are excruciatingly slow building up to a musical and/or vocal climax. “New day” is sung in Spanish and for me this works fine. Spanish is a suitable language for the passionate singing of Louis Gabbiani.
conclusion
This young band has a bright future ahead when they develop and perfect their own personal style. If you enjoy listening to bands like Radiohead and have a weakness for Van der Graaf’s music you must give this new young band a chance.