Ambulance LTD
(TVT)
by Brian Varney
A pleasant surprise of the sort I rarely have anymore, being the relatively well-informed underground geek that I am, this five-song EP is a gem by a band I’ve never heard a thing about. Pretty and sensitive-like enough to appeal to the snobby clerk at yer local indie shop, but with light psychedelic touches to at least catch the attention of your drug-addled, wine-guzzling buddies, with also enough melodic horsesense to stand right up and say “Yes sir!” to anyone who just loves pop music (I can totally see my friggin’ parents digging a couple of songs on here).
Ambulance Ltd sound as if they’re out to capture the whole world, from the drug-addled miscreants to the Sunday-newspaper-and-a-glass-of-tea set. None of which would matter worth two lumps of horseshit if they didn’t have the musical smarts to pull it off, which they do. I ain’t trying to say this is going to capture the hearts and minds of everybody it’s reaching for ’cause I’ve only played it three or four times and nothing annoys me more than someone who proclaims something “Best album EVER!” after hearing it exactly once, but I will say that I find my thoughts returning often to this CD, which means that I’ll at least give the full-length a chance if and when it appears.
(23 E 4th St. New York, NY 10003)