Now that it's the year 2000, we're all pretty comfortable with the fact that punk and hardcore can convey heartfelt emotion - thanks largely in part to acts like Jimmy Eat World, the Promise Ring and, of course, the Get Up Kids. Now that this milestone in music history is behind us, it's time to move on to new challenges.
Enter the New Amsterdams. Led by the Get Up Kids' Matthew Pryor, the New Amsterdams aim for what Pryor's other outfit excels in-raw emotion. This time around, however, Pryor has taken the turpentine and rag to his songwriting, rolled up his sleeves, and stripped every extraneous element from his songs. While anyone who's picked up a Get Up Kids album in the past four years - and who hasn't? - knows Pryor can crank out the dynamic pop like nobody's business, and the New Amsterdams focuses more on the dramatic core of his songs than any rock'n'roll powerhouse could.
Warm and intimate, Never You Mind finds Pryor and company -- guitarist Alex Brahl, drummer Jake Cardwell and the Get Up's Robert Pope on bass and organ -- more relaxed than in any other setting the songwriter has displayed himself in before. Take away emo's tempo shifts, the loud guitars and pleading melodies designed to play up the emotional drama of its songs, as the Amsterdams do on this album, and Never You Mind struggles almost nakedly through its songs. Naked suits the band, however, as its relaxed melodies and downbeat arrangements don't need the clutter of high-priced dynamics and choreographed rock to get their points across.
Whether sitting down intimately with only an acoustic guitar, as in "Every Double Life" or tightrope walking through a folksy weeper like "Proceed with Caution," Pryor isn't afraid to stand tall and open his heart wide open for all to see. Without the raging production, the blazing guitars and the stomping drums of Pryor's other act, the Amsterdams stand as revealed as a skeleton on display.
The New Amsterdams aren't afraid to rev things up when the situation calls for it, however. Songs like "McShame" -- a short but sweet pop anthem -- or the mellow "Lonely Hearts," featuring sleepy rhythms and rainy bass melodies, showcase the rest of the Amsterdams' knack for mellow accompaniment that is altogether riveting.
While idiots will immediately write this off as another Get Up Kids satellite band, anyone without an acute case of tinnitus should be able to immediately recognize the differences between both units. Though cosmetic similarities (namely Pryor's voice) jump from Never You Mind, the moody restraint shown by the Amsterdams is worlds away from the pop powerhouse that is the Get Ups. That's not to say the Amsterdams can't compete for impact -- the sheer honesty of the acoustic numbers on this album can nearly eclipse the power of any plugged-in band.
No matter how flash a rock act is, at the heart of its success lie its emotional sincerity and its ability to craft honest-to-goodness melodies. Throw a distortion pedal, crashing cymbals and studio gloss into the mix, and things just get a bit more spruced up. The Amsterdams, however, are one of those rare acts needing no sprucing up, as Never You Mind proves. Raw and passionate, yet sublimely restrained, the New Amsterdams show that emotionalism in music isn't a style but rather a way of thinking.
All Music Guide Bio:
Indie rock outfit the New Amsterdams were pioneered by Get Up Kids vocalist/ guitarist Matthew Pryor as a side project, and his personal emotion continued to be redefined and modeled upon a musical cast of energetic pop. Joining Pryor are drummer Jake Cardwell, guitarist Alex Brahl, and Get Up Kids bassist Robert Pope. Since forming the Get Up Kids in 1996, Pryor needed another outlet for his stripped melodies to sheer off the typical emo associations found with his other band. So with grainy acoustics and lyrical dynamics, the New Amsterdams issued their debut Never You Mind in fall 2000. Two years later, Pryor took a break from his bandmates to record a follow- up completed entirely by him. Para Toda Vida captured a more intimate Pryor and production work by Alex Brahl. ~MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide