- Amaringo have been gently drifting through the cosmos for a few years now. That's kinda their thing. The duo of singer-drummer Allie Wu Lin and guitarist-bassist Christian Driscoll float on psychedelic breezes, jamming their hypnotic jams.
Early on, listening in their debut full-length, I had wondered if they embraced this jamband tendency too wholeheartedly. Just letting songs coalesce as they might, like random jottings about a mescalin-fuelled astral jaunt. On reflection though I don't think that's the case. I mean you can definitely hear the very DIY roots of the music and this contributes to what could've been quite a sparse, even gaunt sound. That's not what you end up with though. The production stuccos up all the gaps in the sound with a warm reverb and don't be fooled by the drifting moments, Amaringo work subtle arcs into their slow compositions: what seems quiet and directionless, in a few minutes will be built into a psychedelic bonfire of distorted guitar.
I guess this balance speaks to the manner in which the record was created, first pieced together in the studio and then supplemented with additional, improvisational jamming. That seems the reverse of what most bands do, but given what Amaringo have ended up with, maybe more musicians should give that counter-intuitive approach a try.
More bands should go back to doing psych epics too: there was so much more of this kind of thing around five years ago and it seems as if it bloomed like a fever-dream and disappeared. Well, Amaringo are playing a longer game than that, anyway, reaching audaciously for the endlessly spinning jams of bands like Hot Tuna, the sweet psych-pop power of Jefferson Airplane and maybe just the tiniest nod to the uncompromising stylishness of the Velvet Underground.
I Woke Up This Morning After A Dream is worth a few listens just to get your head around it. Don't be fooled by its seemingly directionless dream logic. It's a record that takes all of the qualities Amaringo have displayed in their first few years and gathers them together with surprising confidence. Everybody dreams, but few are skilled enough to really control their dreams.
- Chris Cobcroft.