Amplifier - Fractal EP

Recorded at night after toiling all day during the marathon Octopus sessions, this free EP has been given away as thankyou for the buyers of their sprawling opus, although anyone can download it from Bandcamp.

All the pieces here are totally improvised, and works as a fine insight into their songwriting process. Executive builds from solar static to end akin to the noise from inside a barrel of psychedelicised hornets. On it's heels The Chase starts with some nice fingerpicking across a chord cycle, Fractal has a simple motif that threatens to explode into riff carnage at any time, but doesn't, and slows down to a Seven By Seven style groove - you can almost hear Bob Calvert intoning Michael Moorcock! Final piece Solaris has a suitably reflective feel, single note picking through a chorus pedal over a laid back beat.

I often wonder why progarchives.com label Amplifier as Space Rock, well their pigeonholing is more than justified with this fine piece of inter-galactical noodling. If you download this and like it, why not try Amplifier's mega opus The Octopus? Go on, you know it makes sense!

Get it for free here:

http://amplifier.bandcamp.com/album/fractal-ep

3.5 out of 5
#32