The New Amsterdams

[Before I start, make sure you check out this post from Largehearted Boy, which details all the full length albums you can stream at Spinner this week. I love LHB! I love Spinner less, but dude, I'll compromise my principles for the fabulous charms of Alex Church.]

Today is a great day, for it is the release date of the New Amsterdams’ new album, “At the Foot Of My Rival.” I am a huge, huge fan of the New Ams. I was not too enthused about their last release, “Story Like A Scar,” but the band has been through many changes. The first time I saw them, there were some Get Up Kids (and someone from Reggie and the Full Effect, I seem to recall) playing behind Matt Pryor, but mostly he played everything — keyboard, guitar, harmonica — and sang too, while I stared up adoringly at his tattoos musical talents.

Then the Get Up Kids broke up, and Pryor left Vagrant records, and the band got a new lineup (featuring Gretchen the bass) and got jazzed. There is a certain nostalgic quality when I listen to “Para Toda Vida” now, or “Never You Mind” — many times there it’s just Pryor and his guitar and his passion. But I really like the new lineup, and I think that now they’ve been together awhile, they’ve turned out a nice collection of songs. The lyrics are more mysterious than usual, not as easy to unravel as the old songs like “Idaho” or my favorite, “Drama Queen.” But the passion is still there, and Pryor’s voice only gets better on each album.

So give their Myspace a gander; for not only is it set up beautifully and cleanly, you can even — I LOVE THIS, SERIOUSLY — buy the tracks off them, right there, and you can use Paypal. That’s the free market at work, folks. And at $9.99 for 14 tracks, you absolutely cannot do better.

The New Amsterdams – Myspace | Label (Curb Appeal)

[ed note - tracks removed. please contact me for a copy (or buy them from the myspace)]

The New Amsterdams — Hughes

The New Amsterdams — Wait