The New Amsterdams

At The Foot Of My Rival

Matt Pryor’s sixth studio album under the New Amsterdams banner sounds like it should have been released in the ’80s. All the elements are present for a thrifty rock ’n’ roll rehash, but it’s Pryor’s intimacy and the liberties he takes with wide open spaces that thrust this album into an altogether modern realm. Recorded primarily at his Lawrence, Kansas, home, At The Foot Of My Rival boasts minimalist arrangements-mostly acoustic guitar-driven back-porch rockers-and Pryor’s trademark nasal crescendo, rendering a majority of the tracks susceptible for moments of bombast. “Without A Sound (Eleanor)” features a lulling cello/guitar verse before exploding into a full-blown catharsis, with electric guitar and wailing vocals butting heads until their final silence. Hopefully by now you’re not still trying to compare and contrast the New Ams to the Get Up Kids; this is the sound of a distinctive band hitting their peak.

Curb Appeal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_Appeal_Records