Amity

Amity

Internecine

[3/5] If one wanted to dismiss Amity for playing usually middling nü-emo, they’d have to consequently dismiss the band’s knack for driving guitars and subtle hooks, and their choice to forego most of the genre’s tempting clichés. If Circa Survive played about two keys lower, chances are it might sound like Internecine-but maybe a little more compelling, in Circa’s case. Though, to give the Los Angeles quintet’s defenses a little more stage time, their atmospheres are usually meant to be less like dreamy soundscapes and more like a showcase of unrelenting, big and powerful riffs-which tend to lose efficiency when drawn out over four minutes each. It feels like a lazy handoff offering a promise of better things for the band, but for now they’re likely to be outshone by contemporaries in Facing New York (who they once released a split CD with) and the Felix Culpa. (NEGATIVE PROGRESSION; negativeprogression.com) Brian Shultz

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