Amphibious Jones

You'd think the psychedelic-classic-hard-rock-revival vein would be completely tapped at this point. But Amphibious Jones didn't target the usual suspects in terms of sounds to appropriate, and that's what makes this album stand out. You get the sense that these guys watched Heavy Metal dozens of times and contemplated the...

By Tom Murphy

March 20, 2012

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You'd think the psychedelic-classic-hard-rock-revival vein would be completely tapped at this point. But Amphibious Jones didn't target the usual suspects in terms of sounds to appropriate, and that's what makes this album stand out. You get the sense that these guys watched Heavy Metal dozens of times and contemplated the artwork of the late, great Moebius as teenagers, making the link between old comic books and Heavy Metal magazine — which, naturally, led them to the music of Hawkwind, Amon Düül II and maybe even a touch of Eloy. It's all here in a loosely assembled concept album that's equal parts prog, psychedelia and '90s art rock. Michael Moorcock and Frank Zappa are clearly the godfathers of this songwriting, and Amphibious Jones has done them proud with tight yet fluid melodies and hard edges warped with sinuous rhythms throughout.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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