Ambergris "This Blows EP" (2010)

Track Listing:

1. The Fall of False Kings

2. This Ends in a Hail of Bullets

3. Life

4. The Well Wisher

5. No One Cares About You

6. Undertow

7. One More Song

8. The Fox

I've been meaning to do a write up on this since the show on the 13th, but kept getting side tracked by one thing or another, so to say it's long overdue would be an understatement. However, I have an Ambergris related story that I want to share with you guys before I go into what I think about this EP.

When Mark and I went to see D.O.A. at the M Room, I noticed that a couple of the guys from Ambergris (Will, Art, and G) were at the show. Mark decided that we should go say hi to them, which I thought was strange since Mark is the one that tells me to not bother people because they know they are in a band and they know people like them and I don't need to be "That guy". Since he suggested that we talk to them, I assumed he had talked to them before. Keep in mind we both had a lot of PBR in our system, so this wasn't really well thought out. We walk up to them, Mark says something like "Hey, you guys are in Ambergris right?" and they say that they are. Mark then briefly says that we've seen them at shows and stuff, and the conversation just falls into an awkward silence. Keep in mind I've been standing there silently the entire time, to prevent from blurting out something drunk and not well thought out. Mark blames the PBR for what came out of his mouth next, but I'm not buying it. He looks right at them and says "This guy just started a blog, and he's going to review your cd". I'm standing there stunned and mortified and one of them (I believe it was G, correct me if I'm wrong) says "If we ever get it released". The only words I can form are "No, he means A Day Late and A Dollar Short" and I promptly proceeded to grab the sleeve of Mark's shirt and pull him away.

After that long rambling story, lets get into this record. All but one of these songs (The Fall of False Kings) was written and previously recorded for their album "A Whales Tale", which saw a limited release. Ambergris went back into the studio and re-recorded the tracks from that album because "the final mix wasn't up to snuff" (direct quote from Truman), and put seven of them on this EP, and will be releasing the others on another (according to Truman when I bought this). Just like "A Day Late and A Dollar Short", I've listened to this record constantly. I love it. I've literally texted Walt at least 3 times talking about how much it kicks ass. It kicks off with "The Fall of False Kings" and it's the perfect way to start. The whole EP is filled with great songs with a distinctly old school type feel. "Undertow" has a distinctly piratey feel. It's catchy and a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. "The Fox" is the perfect way to end the record. It's fast and aggressive with a wicked guitar line.

Come out to the Punk Rock Picnic tomorrow and see Ambergris live. If you're not in the area or for some VALID reason can't make it, check out their Myspace, their Facebook, and their website (where you can and definitely should buy this fucking EP).