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The WireAug 17, 2011Clamber aboard and settle in for a very sweet ride. [Jul 2011, p.55]
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Aug 12, 2011The music's measured rhythm and plaintive chords may belie those bright sentiments, but if everything lined up perfectly, this wouldn't be Richard Youngs.
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UncutJul 28, 2011Youngs' atonal yelpings and the bizarre tangents his big guitar shapes take won't be to the tastes of those who like their music a tad less askew--but acclimatise yourself to Young's off-kilter take and there are some rewards here. [Aug 2011, p.107]
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Jul 28, 2011The music of Amplifying Host blends baked American blues with the ghosts of this island's folk tradition to wonderful effect, especially on 'Tessellations', which is like coming across a bedraggled family cooking beans around a campfire in the tinder-dry ruins of what was once a chocolate-box timber-framed cottage.
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Jul 19, 2011Most of the album's six tracks begin in the same place, with a blue note bent harshly against Youngs' own meandering arpeggios.
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Jul 19, 2011It's a great, moving set of songs from one of the few modern songwriters to actively challenge his own preconceptions of his art.
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Jul 19, 2011If Paris, Texas concerns itself with flat desert landscapes then Amplifying Host makes the sea its home, with a too-steady rhythm always threatening to halt the potential for a clear reflection on the infinite horizon.
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Jul 19, 2011Richard Youngs' 11th solo album on Indiana indie Jagjaguwar ditches the keyboards of his recent releases, instead relying on disjointed guitars, eerily overdubbed incantations, and the rich, multihued drumming of Damon Krukowski (Galaxie 500, Damon & Naomi).
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Jul 19, 2011Alongside Youngs' anxious, distracted acoustic guitar picking, the most characteristic sound of this album is a damaged electric guitar, pealing its mournful, inarticulate song again and again.
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Jul 19, 2011As it turns out, music of surprising intricacy and beauty lies within these canvases, but you'd be well advised to consult your musical doctor before opening up fully to them.