Review Summary: Teenagers that skipped teen pop and dived into more heavier waters, the right way.
When you run into a very young bunch guys, in the case of American Amnesia it is three still teenagers from Connecticut, usually the expectations are not very high, expecting some sort of very commercial friendly sounds on the pop side of any genre, or something that follows closely in the footsteps of their personal music heroes. Rarely do you run into something truly extraordinary, like for example Lemon Twigs?
On the evidence of their debut album Yet Here We Are, American Amnesia is not going the overproduced pop commercial route and they are not coming up with something truly extraordinary. Yet. Ranging in age from the 16-year old bassist Gus Pac, through 17-year old drummer Sam Cesnak to the 19-year guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Patrick Nemaizer, do follow the trail already take by the heavier rock route taken by such legends like Metallica, Rush or not so legendary yet The Killers, but they also certainly show a promise that they can find their own voice and come up with something that is truly their own sound.
The trio certainly knows how to handle their instruments, which is particularly true of Nemaizer, who is obviously the driving musical force here. His vocals are good enough, but his guitar and compositional skills show the promise of something more exceptional, as he is able to incorporate more current musical elements into the band’s sound, as evidenced on tracks like “Questions in the Dark” or “All Of The Ashes”, which includes some mean double tracking guitars. Pac (a late arrival to the band) and Cesnak rhythm section might need to still work to reach Nemaizer’s level, but they obviously have some kind of synergy with him making the whole thing work, making the trio sound like they are well into their musical careers.
While a track like “Means to An End” can show the sings of the band’s tender age, the two closers, “No Doors” and “Stars of Orion” certainly do not but give signs that American Amnesia, might actually stick in the minds of the music lovers who love their sounds to be on the heavier side of things.
