ARTiST: Jon Amor
ALBUM: Unknown Soldier
BiTRATE: 171kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: Boma Records
GENRE: Indie
SiZE: 61.07 megs
PLAYTiME: 0h 47min 40sec total
RiP DATE: 2007-10-11
STORE DATE: 2007-10-22
Track List:
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01. Ball & Chain 3:47
02. In The Devil's Back Yard 4:15
03. Lost 4:09
04. Headspin 4:03
05. Free My Way 4:24
06. 19 New Park Street 3:50
07. Drowning 4:12
08. Under Your Skin 3:35
09. Unknown Soldier 4:26
10. If You Were Me (And I Were You) 2:22
11. Meet Again 3:29
12. Your Heart Is Taken 5:08
Release Notes:
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'Unknown Soldier' marks another significant shift from Jon Amor the high volume,
high velocity indie guitar hero to Amor the thoughtful solo singer songwriter.
And although this album does make use of a full band in parts, the emphasis is
squarely on the impact of his songs. To that end it has been noticeable that a
high proportion of his shows in the last year have been solo, and 'Unknown
Soldier' is essentially a song writer's album that lives and dies on the back of
some strong narratives and imaginative tales.
And having bobbed and weaved his way through a mix of Grungy groove laden rock,
acoustic elements and funky grooves he completes his journey from a hard hitting
rocker to an effective observational song writer on '19 New Park Street'. Amor
mines a dispassionate reflective style of song-writing that find its oxygen in
several stories, both real and imagined. And in the main it works well with the
arrangements being well suited to his vocal style.
Granted the opening section of 'Drowning' does rock out with a characteristic
big drum sound, and does the impressive 'Ball and Chain' which works well on the
back of a muscular groove. But as with the undulating acoustic swing of the
single 'In The Devil's Back Yard', the emphasis is on a solo effort rather than
a full blown band effort.
Things don't always work immediately with the awkward mid-number tempo change in
'Drowning' tending towards the ponderous, but repeated plays bring more apparent
reward. In many ways this album resembles several pieces of an audio jigsaw as
Amor doesn't hang around over egging his talent. Thus the very accessibility of
'Under Your Skin' swiftly gives way to the mid tempo title track whose poetic
lyrics are embellished in an acoustic wash, topped by Beatlesque bv's and some
subtle processed guitar. And in many respects this track is the personification
of where you imagine Amor to be happiest. Indeed on the following stripped down
'If You Were Me (and I Were You'), there is little more than up in the mix
percussion and an effective call and response vocal line before some belated
scratching and a distant guitar line joins the fray.
But as they say in the trade, you should save your best for last, and the piano
led and delicately arranged horns and strings of 'Your Heart is Taken' act as
the perfect foil for Amor at his most plaintive, as he digs deep to reach a new
creative artistic level. Hard to believe that this is the same riffmeister of
old, but life moves on, and 'Unknown Soldier' soldier is both a brave effort and
a stylistic departure that will serve Jon Amor well.
Enjoy!