With a decent resume of bands played with and for including, KillingJoke, Lynch Mob, Fahrenheit 45, King Crimson, and Peter Gabriel, NYC band Amplify offer their 6 song EP entitled Beneath The Beauty Lies...Heaven To Burn (Octavius Records). Unfortunately the band doesn't live up to the sum of their collective parts, and simply don't serve up much memorable material here.
Amplify does house one hell of a vocalist in Bobbie Rae, who also serves as Amplify's drummer & producer, as well. If you can imagine Zakk Wylde's angst ridden vocals delivered through Scott Weiland, then you're getting close to what Rae can do. His powerful, soulful vocals abound on this CD should become Amplify's obvious claim to fame, because their songs just are not the vehicle for his excellent vocals. Amplify have also enlisted Bass/Stick legend, Tony Levin to lay down some awesome bass lines, but even his great playing doesn't quite save the day. The band is rounded out by guitarist Joe Rodriguez and keyboard player Rachel Z. , all world class musicianship for sure, but their collective songwriting on this release is lacking.
Don't get me wrong, Amplify don't suck, but you won't walk around with their tunes in your head, either. They are best described as a band with a legendary bassist lending a helping hand, a singer that has an amazing voice, but bland songs. On this 6 track CD tracks like "Home" and "Connected" are great examples of Bobbie Rae's talent, but unfortunately Amplify are a Hard Rock band that just gets lost in the shuffle with no memorable songs to speak of... but they do have a hell of a singer!
Track Listing
1. Becoming
2. Hydro
3. High As The Sun
4. Twilight
5. Home
6. Connected
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