Amusement Parks on Fire

Amusement Parks on Fire possess several amazing qualities; among them is a truly horrible name and a gorgeous debut album written and recorded entirely by one man/boy named Michael Feerick all before his 20th birthday. As is typical, his precocity is freckled with pretence, apparent in egregious lyrics ("All you ever know is what they sold you”) and the classical interludes, which are more tedious than artistic. But when Feerick sticks to semi-structured shoegazing rock you can’t help but swell with excited awe. He negotiates feedback like an instrument itself, and produces drone gems like "Eighty Eight” and "Venosa” that safely compare to anything in Swervedriver’s catalogue. There’s much more than just potential on this record — there’s actual talent.