By releasing six full-length albums, Amber Smith has become the most prolific Hungarian indie band. In addition, Imre Poniklo has participated in numerous side projects such as The Poster Boy, SALT III just to mention a few. New was released on 24 April 2017 and contains eight new tracks. The songs were written by Imre Poniklo and Oleg Zubkov a.k.a Toof. New was recorded at Starmusic in Budapest, Hungary and it was engineered and mixed by Ábel Zwickl. The vocals were recorded by András Szekeres at Fantomas Studios in Budapest, while the record was mastered by Gábor Deutsch at An Organik Mastering.
Amber Smith's previous record, entitled Modern, was a departure from the classic indie-rock genre. Indeed, New is a continuation or arrival at the indie-pop genre. My first impression was that Imre Poniklo must have been listening to David Bowie while composing the songs for New. My guess is also supported by the fact that Imre Poniklo is also an active member of the Hungarian David Bowie tribute band. Although Last Lines and Straight To Video can be considered as classic Amber Smith songs, Monkey is a true example of the undeniable effects of David Bowie. Árpád Szarvas, EZ Basic singer songwriter, was also invited to sing on Straight To Video, while Jónás Vera (vocals) and Mihály Bazsinka (saxophone) appeared on Monkey.
All in all, New is one of the most interesting albums recorded by Amber Smith. It is also an eclectic addition to an impressive list of releases. However, the question is 'What are Amber smith fans can do with such a record?' I think the question will be answered in the upcoming months. My prediction is that New is going to divide Amber Smith fans since New is an indie-pop record, a David Bowie tribute, rather than a continuation of the Reprint/Introspective direction.
All in all, New is one of the most interesting albums recorded by Amber Smith. It is also an eclectic addition to an impressive list of releases. However, the question is 'What are Amber smith fans can do with such a record?' I think the question will be answered in the upcoming months. My prediction is that New is going to divide Amber Smith fans since New is an indie-pop record, a David Bowie tribute, rather than a continuation of the Reprint/Introspective direction.
Tracks:
1. Last Lines 2:13
2. Straight to Video 3:58
3. Pyrrhic Victory 4:22
4. Monkey 4:36
5. Numbers 4:39
6. No Truce/ism 6:41
7. Cape 1:32
8. Someday 3:25
Amber Smith:
Imre Poniklo - vocals and guitars
Tamás Faragó - guitars
Oleg Zubkov - bass
Bence Bátor - drums
The Junkie Monkey score:
Composition: 5/5
Musicianship: 5/5
Originality: 3/5
Recording: 3/5
Overall: 4.00