The album begins with the very unique "Smoke" which opens with very random vocal samples over a simple electro funk beat and then integrates a high soprano female crooning, dog barking (or simulated dog barking), plus alt-rock and country influenced rhythms by the time the chorus arrives. It's a weird hodgepodge of styles that works on some levels if you like your music on the eclectic side but it will not be everyone's cup of tea. If that wasn't original enough for you, the second song on the album, "Bollywood," is an even more unique offering. It features a jangly Bollywood-style beat and music which on its own would be weird for a Liz Phair song but to top it off she sings the song in the style of rap. Yes, for better or worse, Liz Phair not only raps on this album but she lays down her rap over a Filmi style song. (Sorry, I took two Indian Film classes when I was getting my Film Studies minor so I know a wee bit about the Bollywood style so bear with me.) I actually found the song kinda entertaining in terms of the blending of two styles that Phair obviously is not normally associated with although the song is far from a perfect marriage of the two styles. Most of the other songs fit better in the alt-rock singer/songwriter style we expect from Phair. This is not to say that the rest of the songs are all in the same style but rather they don't venture as far from what we expect from a Liz Phair album. "You Should Know Me" and "Miss September" have a mellower, more acoustic sounding flavor to them; "And He Slayed" and "Oh Bangladesh" have a harder rocking style with the acoustic guitars being replaced feedback generating electric guitars; while "Bang! Bang!" and "Beat Is Up" were influenced by various electronica styles (downtempo and Latin electronica, respectively).
It's a pretty good album overall although I don't know if it was worth the five year wait. The various styles she manages to incorporate make the album an interesting listen and the album layout and production were very solid. Unfortunately, there weren't any real standout songs on the album so it's probably not a disc I will revisit often. Also, I'm personally curious to see how people not as familiar with Filmi music like "Bollywood" because the song is not as accessible as, say, Wyclef Jean's "Hollywood Meets Bollywood," which also blended rap with Bollywood style music, from Wyclef's Carnival II album.
Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Miss September" and "Bollywood" (because you know you want to hear Liz Phair rap)
The first three songs on this album are superb. The album opens with "The Dawn of Your Happiness is Rising" whose opening bass line plus the ensuing drum beats and guitar riffs sound like an extremely enjoyable modern day version of a The The song. Even the vocal performance is sung in a style similar to Matt Johnson, frontman for The The. That track is followed by "Full Collision" which has a guitar opening and general melody reminiscent of something The Kooks would give us which then evolves into a true power pop song. The third song that opens the album, "Acid Reign," has a New Wave synthpop feel full of rocking synthesized tones and more airy vocals. "It Couldn't Be Perceived" has a very 80's New Wave feel to it but the hooks aren't as catchy as the earlier songs and it didn't have the same energy. They even have one song, "Violent Sensation Descends," which sounds like cross between a The Shins and a The Turtles song. One thing that is impressive over the entire album is the singing as the band members (all three are credited with vocals on the album) are more than credibly able to warble the various vocal styles from the sub-genres of indie music the band presents to us.
Overall, Amoral is a very impressive debut album. The first three songs can all be categorized as "indie" songs but the sub-genres of indie music they recall are completely different and yet the band manages to do all three extremely well. The rest of the album is mostly good although I didn't find any songs as catchy as the first three.
Score: 8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Acid Reign" and "Full Collision"
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