AmazingSlashWow: AEM005 AmazingSlashWow

"... we’re serving up a nice new digital 7-inch from Amazing/Wow, so check it out. Side A is a punk anthem for the new millennium called “We Don’t Need Anything.” They’re right, they don’t need anything–not even a bassist. Fu*k bassists. The song takes off with some hefty feedback, ushering in a vocal intro and a hovering guitar part that suddenly casts us off into the meat of the song before we really know what hit us. I don’t think I had heard anything made in my lifetime that actually propelled me to punch the air during the chorus until I found this song. Amazing/Wow has a pretty basic agenda that they fulfill with style: punk songs + catchy melodies + lots of raw untamed masculine energy. Even the most apathetic of hipsters will find themselves looking like bearded bobble-head dolls when they put this one on. “We Don’t Need Anything” is a perfect example of what makes Amazing/Wow so great."

"The B-Side of this disk, “Covered in Blood,” shows what separates Amazing/Wow from your normal run-of-the-mill two person punk band (though I refuse to believe that such a thing actually exists). Amazing/Wow combines pop and punk in a way that gives credence to both genres. The song builds over a two-note riff, adding tambourine and drums until the vocals finally enter and remind us that we’re listening to something very, very special. The refrain, “I would like to see your face covered in blood,” gives way to a 3-chord straight punk riff that quickly becomes just a little embarassed by itself and drops us back into the indie-infused shell of the song. The song’s a bit schizophrenic like that, alternating between a deep indie guitar groove and straight punk. Oddly, I miss one when I’m hearing the other, which is maybe why I’ve had this song on repeat for hours now. It’s the perfect balance between music that draws heavily on a certain genre and music that’s directly referential. This is the kind of tune that gets jammed deep inside your head and stays there, but since you can’t really sing and have a shitty memory, the version that’s in your head is always slightly out of tune and just loops half a verse over and over again. Practice makes perfect?"

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