American Music Club

If memory serves, the original American Music Club sold LPs from the back page of American comics - $1.99 would get you six or eight albums provided you signed up to receive their album of the month for the next twenty years!

This American Music Club has been in abeyance since 1995 when the founder, Mark Eitzel, decided to pursue a solo career which has spanned eight albums.

So what is new? Well AMC made a name for themselves with 'difficult’, dark and twisted songs, spearheading the Emo movement but it seems that Mr Eitzel has grown up some and now together again with Vudi (LA Bus Driver and guitarist) and now with Sean Hoffman & Steve Didelot – (bass and drums) he has produced an album that, on the first listening, has much of the beauty and gentleness of the classic period of Bread, America, CSN& Y or Mk III Fleetwood Mac but which has, under the skin, all of the depth and bleakness of theme of the original band.

Eitzel is on record as stating that 'I don’t want to make songs dark or difficult. I want to make the best fucked up pop songs out there' and he has gone a hell of a way towards that goal here. The songs are lovely to listen to and represent an adult pop that Bacharach or Herb Alpert might recognise with strong melodies and Eitzel’s soft and almost lilting vocals but then you look at the song titles 'All The Lost Souls Welcome You To San Fransisco’ or 'Decibels & Little Pills’ and you begin to think that this might not be the 'nice’ album it sounds like – now listen to his lyrics; 'years ago my soul went missing, looking for a life no-one would mourn' , stories and circumstances in the greatest tradition of American songwriters and looking at a world that borders bohemian without the knowingness of the beats and their ilk.
Albums this good remind you how a classy songwriter can encapsulate a thought or a moment in time and when the playing is as sympathetic and feeling as this you can just let it wash you or choose to involve yourself as you wish – sublime.