SPANISH JAZZ-ROCK COLLECTIVE’S THIRD RELEASE

Amoeba Split are a Spanish outfit who have recently released their third album, Quiet Euphoria via áMARXE. They have been recording since 2010, so not exactly prolific in their output, but this jazz-rock band are worthy of our attention.

The Canterbury Scene influence in their music is very clear, but I think they are distinctive, and there is a melting pot of sounds.

All music was composed by Alberto Villarroya López, who plays guitars, keyboards, and (incredibly well, bass fans take note) bass guitar, alongside arrangements by Ricardo Castro Varela who is responsible for piano, electric piano, and Hammond Organ, that staple of rock music. You can visit their Bandcamp page at https://amarxe.bandcamp.com/album/quiet-euphoria to discover the remainder of a large collective and, of course, to purchase their wares.

There are six tracks on the album, and we start with the title track which introduces itself with some fine piano work before an outpouring of joyous noise with saxophones, brass, and a vibraphone combining with a tremendous rhythm section to give us a funky delight. I have embedded the track below – marvel at the bass played as a lead instrument, the xylophone leading a charge, in amongst some very strange noises, including pure psych guitars, amidst a jam festival. Extremely intricate and extremely good, and I especially love the piano/percussion interplay with the funny voices to close.

This is followed by Shaping Shadows which has a mournful eastern flavour to it to begin. This changes when flute enters just over a minute in alongside the muted brass, and this is particularly delicate, with the band providing for a gentle jam, almost amongst the shadows and not “in your face”. The addition of the sax and Hammond then add a further layer over the always urgent and impressive rhythm section, this interspersed with some dark noises. There is a contrast here between some joyous funk and some bleaker intentions, and it is never anything less than interesting.

The Inner Driving Force is up next, surely a contender for Title of the Year when I do my 2023 awards in December. The track is embedded below. I love the brass intro which, unexpectedly, reminds me of some of Keith Emerson’s keyboard work back in the day, and this is only reinforced when the Hammond gets to work, and what follows is a delightful retro progressive rock track with a strong push before just short of four minutes in there is a pause followed by piano and percussion combining to great effect. The fuzz guitar and the bass guitar throbbing underneath bring that inner strength inherent in the title and when the brass returns the track explodes in a brief flurry of noise before the fade. Very clever, and very good.

Divide and Conquer is a short track at three minutes. There is an electronica, sort of Kraftwerk, feel to the effectively simplistic synth notes here before the bass hurries along guitar and keys on a track which is perhaps a bit short because there are some interesting ideas which I think could have been explored further.

The penultimate track is Thrown to the Lions. The light opening somewhat belies the title of this piece with bass again leading the way alongside some delightful sax. Even as this develops into a more urgent sax solo, there is no sense of impending doom until the noises become altogether harsher from the keys and from therein, we get a far more dystopian piece of music, very thoughtful with the bass lead especially alongside some simple keyboard notes bringing a premonition. The flute solo which enters with a quiet sax and percussion in the background is especially lovely and as this develops alongside the keys and acoustic guitar, the word pastoral comes instantly to mind, looking out as I am at the beautiful West Wales countryside, this main passage could almost have been written for that before this particular mood is shattered by the collective led by sax and Hammond throwing the subjects to their doom and the final noises can be seen as a watching crowd at The Coliseum enjoying the subjects fate. My interpretation here is the calm that many observers note in people resigned to their fate in the immediate prequal, and the appreciation of life that resignation brings, to the main event of the public execution, and all the drama that unfolds.

We close with the longest track on the album, No Time for Lullabies. The piano which opens this, accompanied by some dark noise and clever percussion, is sublime and recalls that period just before going to bed, the comedown of the day, and this is accentuated by the beautiful clarinet in duet, that time when you lie down, reflect, and look forward to what the next day might bring. In the background you then hear some Fripp-influenced electric guitar before the subject drops off and the nightmare begins with some stark noises and thumping drums and bass. The saxophone cavorts above these, and the sleep pattern is not altogether unkind on the subject until some electronic noises and trumpets then herald a darker phase of the REM pattern, and the organ continually playing gives this some menace. The dream has turned into a nightmare and here the listener just closes his/her eyes when the piano and synths reign. Let it wash all over you. These give way to the child’s lullaby and then the lush flute accompanied by piano and delicate percussion which provide for something interesting, but not as frightening as what preceded it, although this relative peace is shattered by the closing shrill noise which, one can only assume, is what wakes you up.

I have enjoyed listening to Quiet Euphoria and I think that those of you who enjoy something a bit more eclectic will find a lot to like. To describe them as simply “Canterbury Scene” (something which was, incidentally, restricted to Canterbury and a bunch of delightfully bonkers fellows back in the day) is to understate what Amoeba Split bring to the table, which is a lovely mixture of classical, jazz rock, vibrant prog fusion, and more symphonic leanings. The album comes recommended.