With These United States.

Be there!

We made a Top 25 over at Pitchfork. Keeping some good company on that list!

1. Radiohead: In Rainbows
2. M.I.A.: Kala
3. Burial: Untrue
4. Dirty Projectors: Rise Above
5. Studio: Yearbook 1
6. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
7. The Tuss: Rushup Edge EP
8. Blonde Redhead: 23
9. Electrelane: No Shouts, No Calls
10. Pantha du Prince: This Bliss
11. Via Audio: Say Something
12. Patrick Wolf: The Magic Position
13. Apparat: Walls
14. Beirut: The Flying Club Cup
15. Amateurs: Speak Easy
16. Alicia Keys: As I Am
17. The National: Boxer
18. Gui Boratto: Chromophobia
19. Kings of Leon: Because of the Times
20. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
21. Menomena: Friend and Foe
22. Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
23. Matthew Dear: Asa Breed
24. The Shins: Wincing the Night Away
25. Simian Mobile Disco: Attack Decay Sustain Release

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/…

We are also on a list over at GroundControlMag.com! Very flattered all around. Check it here

“Speak Easy” gets reviewed on West Coast Performer

Excerpt: “There’s a decidedly rural element to the recordings on the band’s first full-length release… as evidenced by the copious use of violin and viola to create a sound reminiscent of old time country and western music… Notes are bent and stretched, rooting the music in the blues… It’s a winning mix of styles, making Speak Easy a compelling listen from beginning to end.”

(more…)

Radio Free Silverlake busts a laid back interview with Keith Amateur.

So, you don’t have a bass player. Why?

You know, we tried. We went through a few and actually lost one in the middle of a tour last year. We still had about ten dates left to go and were forced to work around it. It changed our sound quite a bit, but surprisingly, people loved it. We got a better response on that leg than we had on the whole tour, so we decided to go with it.

Read the rest!
http://radiofreesilverlake.blogspot.com/2007/08…

Liz Colville reviews “Speak Easy” for Stylus Magazine. “…adventurous, immediately affecting, and unpredictable.” Nice!

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/amateurs/speak-easy.htm

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Groundcontrolmag and its cadre of editors has put together a list of mid-year Top 10s. “Speak Easy” is on 2 of them.

http://www.groundcontrolmag.com/detail/1/419/1/

“Speak Easy” gets reviewed on TheTripwire.com

Excerpt: “Amateurs are much more about creating soundscapes than many of their indie-folk peers. They offer a nice balance of accessible ’70s countrified a.m. radio rock with their other more sonically ambitious tracks. With a debut LP this strong, I don’t expect to see them unsigned for much longer.”

(more…)

We are very excited to show you this mini-documentary our good friends at Groundcontrolmag.com put together. It features some live footage of us in the practice studio and an interview where we talk about the recording of “Speak Easy.” It looks incredible! Enjoy!

“Speak Easy” gets reviewed on the Buzz Bands column of the LA Times.



Amateurs, “Speak Easy” (self-released): L.A. quartet Amateurs can’t quite decide what they want to be, except good. Their first album nods to classic rock, folky ’70s radio fare, modern indie titans and maybe even prog rock band or two, if they used strings. Whether you hear a lot of Wilco or a little Fleetwood Mac, Fairport Convention or the Band, it’s the emotional range that makes Amateurs’ an impressive debut. Its melodic bounce, gorgeous wedding of harmonies with Shannon De Jong’s strings and smartly spun vignettes by singer-guitarist Keith Waggoner give “Speak Easy” a warm, organic sheen. It’s folk-rock that doesn’t need to resort to gimmickry or conscious deconstruction.

Here’s the link to the story…

Part 2 of the gear-berzerk interview I did with Gearwire.com is up!

Check it out…