Amber

Indie folk-rock quintet Amber met at the University of Nottingham, released their debut EP "Noah" in July this year, and have already been compared to the likes of The National and To Kill A King.



"NOAH" - Amber

"Noah" is their first single and the title track of the EP. For me, it brings in a lot of my favourite things about all of the best folk music to emerge in the last six years (of the dreaded "nu-folk" title). It has the religious references and organic roots of "Peaceful..." era Noah and the Whale, and the rousing choruses and long, joyous "haar's" of a good Mumford footstomper - at the same time, it's a little more heavily produced and there's even moments that remind me of Coldplay.

Looking a little further to find more of their stuff, I came across a cover of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" on their Tumblr, which is one of my favourite songs in the world, and they certainly did it justice, showcasing Joshua Keogh's beautifully melancholic vocals, the addition of drums giving it a chunk of texture. The layered harmonies in the infamous "Whatcha say" bridge, however, don't differ hugely from Heap's original arrangement, and they echo around the earphones gorgeously.

Amber are currently unsigned, but there's undeniably going to be opportunities ahead which I hope they make the right decisions about, and, despite having made the fatal decision of choosing a band name that isn't Google-able, I definitely think there's exciting things ahead for these guys.

More of them here.