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Info and Review from DPRP: The Amber Light hail from Wiesbaden, Germany and formed in the summer of 2000 eventually settling as a permanent four-piece (Louis Gabbiani on vocals, keyboards and guitars, Jan Sydow on guitars, Rabin Dasgupta on bass and Peter Ederer on drums) in mid 2001. Their first release, a four-track mini CD with the great title As They Came They Slightly Disappeared, was released in late 2002, although that seems to have been a limited edition promo item which is currently unavailable. Still, not to worry as Goodbye To Dusk, Farewell To Dawn, the first full-length album, contains over an hour of great music. The album displays a maturity that defies their age, all the musicians are in their early twenties, and although the group exclusively use analogue equipment, they draw their influences from the gamut of progressive music, ancient and modern. From the outset it is evident that The Amber Light deal in soundscapes and that textures: feeling and emotion play a big part in their music. A New Atlantis boldly starts proceedings with Louis Gabbiani's plaintive keyboards and vocals introducing a gentle piece of music that is akin to a blend of Mark Hollis and Sigur Ros. The piece slowly builds into a crescendo of guitars before ending with a reprise of the sedate vocals, this time accompanied by a lone acoustic guitar. Tartaros ups the tempo with a driving bass that expands into a tour de force - track 2 and already we are in epic territory! The band have toured with Germany's top Pink Floyd tribute band Interstellar Overdrive and it is obvious that a few tricks have been learnt from the Floyd's oeuvre, although that's not to say they sound anything like them! Devil Song slows things down again with lovely acoustic guitars and the classic mellotron sound from the keyboards while Gangsters progresses from a heavy beginning, to a more jazz-tinged middle section (where the vocals inexplicably change from being sung in English to Italian [or is it Spanish?]) before all hell is let loose with the introduction of the saxophone of John Guatleri. This piece gives an impression of what Van Der Graaf Generator could sound like if the Hammill/Banton/Jackson/Evans line up were creating new music today. The Drowning Man In My Hands is fairly sombre in mood and harks back to the atmosphere of the opening number A New Atlantis, while Hide Inside is the album's most consistently upbeat number. The last two tracks, Clock Hands Heart and New Day are the large scale compositions of the album, with the two songs combined occupying more than 40% of the album's running time. Intricate long-form pieces that weave in and out of melodies with subtle twists and turns that build tension before lapsing into almost minimalistic periods of introversion. Again, Sigur Ros spring to mind as an apt comparison. An album of contrasting light and shade that is full of musical surprises, The Amber Light have produced an album that draws on the roots of classic progressive rock and interprets it in a truly modern setting. I confess to having fell in love with this album the first time I heard it and even after repeated playings still haven't discovered every nuance and detail. I heartily recommend Goodbye To Dusk, Farewell To Dawn - come on, step into the light and bask in its amber glow. Track List: 1. A New Atlantis 2. Tartaros 3. Devil Song 4. Gangsters 5. The Drowning Man In My Hands 6. Hide Inside 7. Clock Hands Heart 8. New Day Suggested CDs:
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