have to apologise to The Amistad and Steve at Bombed Out because I’ve had this release for months and months – and given it a decent spin too – and just not written anything about it. I can’t even give a decent excuse for my tardyness. So I am very sorry and I hope this is better late than never!
The Amistad feature ex-members of Four Dumb Kids and although they’ve been together since January 2007, this is their debut album. They’ve released a couple of splits – with Above Them and Orphan Choir – so if you heard either of those you will know what to expect from ‘Kept Under By A Generation of Ghosts’. It’s distinctly ‘Yorkshire’ in its punk rock approach, part Milloy, part classic Bombed Out sound. And with song titles like ‘People who live in Glasshoughton shouldn’t throw stones’ what else would you expect?
Vocally it’s very British, there are no faux-Yank accents on show. The vocals are impressive throughout actually and the backing vocals create some decent harmonies. They’re not the poppiest of gruff pop punk bands (clumsy description alert) but there are enough melodies and harmonies rattling around to keep everyone interested. I know I’m lazy to say it, but if you liked the classic Leatherface-esque bands that made the Leeds scene so vibrant and exciting in the early 2000s, you will love this record. Simple as that.