Amber Run - How To Be Human

Wenn Amber Run im Mai für vier Auftritte in Deutschland gastieren werden, müsste jemand kurz für mich einen Blick in den Tourbus werfen, um zu überprüfen, ob dort die CDs von „The Bends“, „The Man Who“ und „Parachutes“ liegen, um rauf und runter gehört zu werden.

Denn offensichtlich eifern Joshua Keogh, Tom Sperring und Henry Wyeth auf ihrem vierten Album Radiohead, Travis, Coldplay und anderen melancholischen Indierockern mit Hang zu Pathos und zur akustischen Gitarre, die ab Mitte der 90er Jahre angesagt waren (Belasco kommen mir mehrfach in den Sinn), nach. Der Titelsong kratzt wahrlich an einem Radiohead-Plagiat (und ist trotzdem toll), „Honeylight“ ist der (zu) offensichtliche Radio-Hit-Versuch und steht mit „Funeral“ für einen etwas moderneren Sound. Mit „Ride“ oder „I MIss You“ gibt es weitere starke Song-Empfehlungen.

Das Trio aus Nottingham war seit „Philophobia“ (2019) ziemlich produktiv, denn „How To Be Human“ gingen mit „The Start (Act I)“, „The Start (Act II)“ und „The Hurt (Act III)“ drei EPs voraus, von denen sich rund ein halbes Dutzend Songs auf dem Album wiederfinden. 

„How To Be Human“ ist als CD, Kassette und LP erhältlich (black Vinyl, transparent amber Vinyl, orange/pink swirl Vinyl, zoetrope Picture Disc).

Amber Run in Deutschland:

19.05.23 Köln, Artheater

20.05.23 Berlin, Privatclub

21.05.23 Hamburg, Nochtspeicher

26.05.23 München, Strom

 

Songs like ‘Ride’, ‘Funeral’, and ‘Hurt’ offering a helping hand for when the weight of the world is holding you down, with the compassionate chorus of the latter in particular providing some of the band’s most tender lyricism to date (“When the water pulls you under, I’ll wrap my arms around you, I’ll hold you while you cry, And in the dark I’ll be your eyes“). While tracks like ”I Hope It’s Not Like This Forever’, ‘I Miss You’ and album highlight ‘The Beautiful Victorious’ are an encouraging push to be the person you want to be and seize the life you want to live, whether that’s in forging new connections or strengthening those you’ve taken for granted. 

Looking past the lyricism, the vocals too provide a unifying thread that sets How To Be Human apart from previous records. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Joe Keogh’s voice feels like it’s really blossomed on this release. There’s a greater depth and maturity to it, a sanding down of rough edges, that at times made me wonder if I was listening to a different person entirely, before one of his unique expressive quirks allayed my fears. In the album’s softest moments we get chance to hear him push his limits, with flashes of Thom Yorke on the latter half of ‘Always Blue’ and sounding stunningly reminiscent of Jeff Buckley on closing waltz ‘The Last Dance’.

(Belwood Music)

  

Music inevitably hits differently for everyone, but How to Be Human is chock full of intimate hits ready to soundtrack our best, brightest days as well as our darkest nights. From the poignant piano ballad “Funeral” and the cinematic “Ride,” to the rip-roaring ride of “The Start” and the raw, resounding, heart-on-sleeve beauty of album closer “The Last Dance,” How to Be Human takes our ears and our hearts on the roller-coaster ride of a lifetime.

Title track “How to Be Human” is an instant standout on the album, and easily one of its most magical and defining moments. Amber Run attack their cause as bluntly – and as beautifully – as possible here, spelling out in plain, passionate language the inner angst and torment that drives one to embark on this insatiable quest for meaning in the first place. Keogh and co. have never sounded better than they do on this song, as they build us up and break us down all at once.

(Atwood Magazine)