AMPLIFIER – THE OCTOPUS
Released 21st February 2011 (AmpCorp)

Words: Tom Willmott

In an age where most music is now consumed at a very different level from the last ten years, releasing a concept double album does sound like a ridiculous idea. Yes, Smashing Pumpkins managed to pull it off, but that was during the mid 90′s, where people’s attention span didn’t seem to dwindle as much as these days. Thankfully, for Manchester trio Amplifier, this was not a problem. It’s been a while since they last put out some material (Insider in 2006), but you will find that the amount of effort put into this deservedly pays off.

For a start, you only have to look at the length of the record which clocks up at over two hours. That’s pretty much the equivalent of ten Trash Talk albums. There are plenty of moments here that showcase their natural talent, like “Interglacial Spell”, a simple yet crunching six minutes accompanied by a nice brass introduction. “The Wave” starts off with a chiming bell, adding to this already fascinating progressive piece of music. With “The Sick Rose”, it almost defines them as Manchester’s answer to Tool. The title track and “White Horses of Sea” are more examples that prove the band can pull off long and complex material without losing focus, unlike some bands such as Dream Theater. But the real highlight comes unusually in the closing track “Forever and More”, nearly ten minutes of solid and ground breaking space rock, sounding not unlike Cave In during their Jupiter era.

It would be lovely to document every second of this record, but that’s just a testament to how much praise it really deserves. The great thing about the band, is they are planning on releasing a follow up in the foreseeable future, so more to look forward to there. In the meantime, “The Octopus” definitely stands out as one of the best listens of the year, and will appeal to just about anyone who can appreciate rock music that combines the best elements from decades gone by. It seems their creative juices will be in full flow for some time yet!