Highway Bound

Album Review

When a band co-opts or synthesizes an older sound like classic rock from the late '60s, the listener often distrusts his or her reactions: is the music really ‘good,' or does it just evoke nostalgia of an earlier time? The Amity Front have probably grown tired of being compared to the Band, but their approach is so similar at certain junctures on Highway Bound, they've pretty much invited the comparison. "A Song for Susie" even evokes an early Band song, "Lonesome Suzie," and the Amity Front insists on vocal styles and eclectic arrangements that mimic Music From Big Pink. This effect will leave listeners who are less than encyclopedic in their knowledge of classic rock wondering if Highway Bound's songs are new versions of old songs. Of course nostalgia isn't a crime, and any band capable of writing songs good enough to sound like the classics deserves some credit. Originality aside, Highway Bound sounds fresh, and the performances have a nice, loose but together, quality. By connecting to an older sound, Amity Front also avoids sounding like every other alternative country-folk-rock band with a whiney singer and depressed lyrics. It might not hurt the band to read a book or two on feminism, but otherwise, Amity Front's classic sound will have listeners breaking out old Band records and waxing poetic about rock in its prime. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide