Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Many a New Jersey artist has found fame and fortune by being everything that New York isn’t. It is almost as if the bright lights that shine down on Lady Liberty reflect into the distance and catch the temple and tempting boardwalks so close to the Atlantic edge and seek refuge in the towns of Wildwood, Ocean City, and down into the beautiful scenic drives down to Cape May Court House and the memories of the old lighthouse as it keeps souls safe from harm…and by doing so offer the musician and favoured artists something that their neighbours in New York never have, an experience of a rough and beautiful tragedy buoyed by the bittersweet moving romance .
New Jersey’s Greg Amici doesn’t just play with this idea in his new album Tragicomic, he relishes the contact that blend of Rock, Ska, Americana, and the blend of Folk Punk that can be found up and down the coastlines, emanating from every nook and cranny of that old state, and with his own unique viewpoint steals the show of dramatic, fearless songs that feel as though the listener has just walked into a series of novellas as each song within has its own pleasurable presentation and appreciation.
An album’s power not only lays with the artist’s intention, but who they surround themselves to deliver the vision, like that lighthouse beam, it is not only the work of the keeper that keeps it bright, but those who supply the means of enlightenment, those who toil to create the giant bulb, who upkeep the machinery, and those who pay heed to the warnings.
The album has a tremendous array of musicians deeply embedded within its heart, and as the accomplished joining of James Mastro, Ray Ketchem, Tony Shanahan, Joe Gentile, Renée LoBue, Tommy Abousslemen, and Chris Robertson roams and peaks with distinction, so the tracks Spin That Ball, the excellent Girl Next Door, Junky Eyes, the very nature of exacting Shakespearian imagery In Like A Lion, Tom Seaver, and the album stand out song of Jennifer all create something so intensely passionate and hot-bloodied that it cannot be ignored, and should be seen as an album of absolute charm and perpetual expression.
Tragicomic is bittersweet joy in every way, and one that is dramatically and fiercely cool.
Ian D. Hall