The Estate Amsterdam: “Look At Us Go” – a massive leap forward!
The Estate Amsterdam is a young band based out of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. The band is formed by Armani van Engelen (Keyboards, bass and vocals), Boaz Vida (Drums, percussion and vocals) and Simon Haneveld (Guitar and vocals), who together deliver a brand of music influenced by a broad mix of styles including blues-rock, hard rock, funk and jazz-rock. After experiencing the full power of their sound on the raw and raucous live performances of “Tell Me The Truth”, “Nowhere To Be Found” and “After The Rain”, the band is back with a brand new single, entitled “Look At Us Go”.
With an attitude that only the young and talented can pull off, this new track is a whole lot different to their previous live recordings, which is part of what makes it great. “Look At Us Go” is both surprising and impressive. The song is texture-driven, and slightly trippy with plenty of clean guitars and prominent string arrangements, making the band’s sound recall a 70s progressive-rock ensemble.
Crucially, the narcotic core of their sound has been left largely intact, with a catchy melody, dense, layered and perfectly executed production, careful, wandering bass-lines and lush, intricate harmonies are all present in abundance. There is a slightly ‘lighter’ approach evident, but overall the track is remarkably spacey, with a lot of attention given to string washes, and sprawling keyboard soundscapes all rather reminiscent of the prog-rock era.
But this is juxtaposed with the tight songwriting and solid, straightforward drumming. If there are any new elements, and I’m inclined to say there are, they emerge in subtle ways: the vocals seem more harmonious and bold, while the melody seems more assured and composed.
A slow build is embellished by a live-sounding, ornate Simon Haneveld guitar solo, with a welcome exotic and biting tinge, before some heavy riffing slides into view, followed by a great, eerie verse and then a sweeping chorus.
“Look At Us Go” is more a massive leap forward than a consolidation of the band’s usual sound, and certainly a near flawless, very tightly constructed single with a lot of depth, as the whole picture will take quite a few listens to fully emerge.
If you never heard of The Estate Amsterdam, then you are in for a big treat. If you already know them, then you’re in for an even bigger treat as you savor the change of sound from their previous live recordings. They are so far apart from the “rest of the pack” that one simply cannot come to grips with the fact that the single must, eventually, end.
The Estate Amsterdam is a band that is hard to categorize. Their music has evolved from far-flung spaced-out guitar-driven jams all the way to their latest release, which is more of a melodic and polished prog attack. And an excellent one at that!
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