Autechre - Amber
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CD Details
Artist: AutechreEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-06-28
Music Label: Warp Records
Soundtracks:
- Foil
- Montreal
- Silverside
- Slip
- Glitch
- Piezo
- Nine
- Further
- Yulquen
- Nil
- Teartear
Music reviews of Amber
Music Review: A masterpiece
Rating: 5 Stars
Ae's second full length, "Amber", marked the beginning of a long string of truly brilliant releases. As I've said in my reviews of other Ae albums from this era, this is a completely different genre from the unpredictable, alien glitch worship they engage in now. "Amber" falls neatly into some subgenre of "ambient techno", probably more-so than any Ae release except their debut, "Incunabula". This is the melodic, icy beauty that alienated fans express so much nostalgia for these days, when the new album of the moment doesn't have as much melody, or slips even further into the abstract.
While I love nearly every album this duo has put out, "Amber" is definitely one of their greatest works, much more consistent than the debut "Incunabula" and more listenable than the follow up, "Tri Repetae". It's also their most ambient, containing several beatless tracks.
This is their first truly great production work. The percussion is all warm, analog static washes, muffled thumps, reverberant clicks. The synths are classic analog. Every corner of the mix is filled with some sound or other, so there's little of the space "Tri Repetae" used so effectively.
Unlike in most of Ae's work, there is little distortion or harshness of any kind... "Amber" is pleasant on the ears, emotionally intense and often melancholy but never urgent or threatening, and most definitely sympathetic and human. It's the disembodied, pensive voice of the dwellers of the modern metropolis, an ode to everyone lost in the urban sprawl, the technology, the routine, the digital communication.
The songs unfold with amazing precision and taste, something this duo nearly always has (if you've read my review of "Tri Repetae, in which I say the tracks drag on too long, I've since changed my mind) and is never given enough credit for. The pacing on "Amber" is masterful, and serves to make the album one of the most listenable in the entire Autechre catalog.
There are some truly breathtaking and heart-wrenching melodies on here, particularly in the ambient tracks "Yulquen" and "Nine"... both of which are among Ae's best tracks... they say so much with so little, creating breathtaking drama with only a few notes. "Montreal", "Silverside", "Piezo" and "Nil" are also all highlights; groovy basslines, dark, gorgeous strings, chattering percussive noise, all expertly produced and arranged.
If the album ever falters, it is in the somewhat cliched "dark" melody of closer "Teartear", which also seems to disrupt the mood and flow of the album with its harshness. Even if the album contained only the first 10 songs, however, it would be easily 5 stars.
As far as this album being the most accessible Ae album, it really depends on who you're playing it for, I think. It's certainly the least offensive Ae album, but an untrained ear could easily miss the subtlety and beauty that makes these songs more than background music.
Anyway, "Amber" is a masterpiece and highly recommended. It's the best of their first 3 LPs, and they wouldn't reach heights like this again until "Chiastic Slide". 5 stars.
Description of Amber
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