Melding floating vocals, laid back percussion and hard edged guitar licks, Brisbane’s Amaringo weave folk tinged psychedelia on their debut EP imagined or real.
Comprised of drummer-vocalist Allie Wu Lin and guitarist Nathan Kearney, Amaringo have only been on the scene for little under three months. Since forming the duo have quickly made themselves known, sharing the stage with a number of Brisbane acts, releasing an early cut of single Give Thanks and even squeezing in a Hobart show alongside underground folk outfit Pikelet in January. After returning to the studio the pair has now produced their four-track EP imagined or real.
Switching effortlessly from dreamy vocals to guitar licks soaked in blues and garage, Amaringo’s debut EP imagined or real is a lo-fi hit.
Kicking off with pounding snare drums and overdriven guitar fuzz, He offers an electric blend of primitive blues and garage. Longing and reverberant vocals provide a soothing counterbalance to the aggression of Kearney’s incendiary guitar licks. Reflecting on a fleeting or imagined flirtation the song focuses around repeated lyric “He looked at me / I looked at him.” The duo’s decision to opt for lo-fi production adds a gritty underground edge to the track’s dreamy meditations.
Second track Mountain builds around a hypnotic mantra and a sinuously meandering tempo. Spontaneously joined by Kearney’s backing, Wu Lin’s echo-laden vocals paint vivid and surrealistic imagery while recounting the story of a mountain dweller’s transcendental journey. Working in some bouncy acid rock riffs evocative of Jefferson Airplane and towering drum beats, the track conveys an otherworldly and grandiose feel.
The Shape I Make’s wobbling organ swells, mellow guitar licks, twinkling keyboards and lackadaisical vocals create some infectiously upbeat vibrations. The track’s melody shifts seamlessly between breathy vocals, playful keys and sliding guitar solos, enveloping the listener in a dazed euphoria. A perfect amalgam of summery psych pop and flighty indie folk, it’s difficult not to be taken in with this whimsical track.
Closer Give Thanks balances light and shade, enticing the listener into a dark and pastoral soundscape. Cryptic allusions to nature and rebirth permeate the track’s enlightened hymn-like veneer. Distorted guitarwork throwing back to the loose psychedelic jams of the Quicksilver Messenger Service slithers throughout the mix. Seductively rhythmic pulses accompany vivid and arrestingly abstract lyrics like “Poke your fingers in my soil/Feel the life that expects.” Contrasting an almost fanatical euphoria with moments of melancholic brooding, the track delves to an unexpected level of emotional complexity before slowly drawing the EP to a close.
Intimate and teeming with originality imagined or real represents an excellent first helping from the promising Brisbane duo.
*Home page image by Marek Rygielski
