Thriving AMZY Rocks the Gothic
June 16, 2017[slideshow_deploy id=’6858′]
Photos by Declan Giese
Ahh, to be young, fresh-faced, optimistic, and in a kick-ass rock band again…. How many of us wouldn’t sell everything we had to get into that spotlight? Well, local up-and-coming band AMZY hasn’t had to sell anything to land themselves in the great graces of rock ‘n’ roll – and pretty quickly. The seemingly cut-for-video four piece played a packed Gothic Theatre last Friday night, proving that – while young – they’ve got what it takes to stay there.
Fronted by Australian native Brennan Johnson – who belts out vocals like he was born to do it – they started with a heart-wrenching version of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” that stopped the audience in awe. Johnson did Simone justice, while the rest of the band backed him up impressively, and if anyone in the Gothic had any doubts before then, they were sold by the time the opener ended. They followed that emotional setting with a little more than an hour of upbeat, electronic power pop that was almost impossible not to dance to. Centered around Johnson’s strong vocals, Nick Billings’ bass work and Wes Barton’s near-flawless drumming gave their set a solid, skilled foundational rhythm, while Sean Grant’s guitar work defined the addictive, explosive sound. Who knew such a wall of sound could come from a simple Telecaster, anyway?
Their infectious grooves showed influences like The Killers and locals Churchill, and occasionally added a smidgen of Alt-J (especially in parts of “Feet on the Ground”) – but wrapped pretty deeply in a hard rocking maelstrom of vocal harmonies, power chords, keys and rhythm. Their new single “Sorry Not Sorry” was a wrangling anthem to walking away from a relationship that had the whole room jumping, while the smooth “We Don’t Walk We Dance” settled the crowd into a swaying dance. “5 to Midnight,” with it’s catchy singalong chanting and impossibly sticky hooks, had the crowd howling in unison. At one point, Johnson boarded a giant inflatable unicorn boat and navigated deep into the crowd on willing fan’s heads, hands, and shoulders – nearly abandoning ship more than once.
AMZY plays a solid, super-catchy power pop, but with more substance that the average young group. Their latest single “Sorry Not Sorry” is available now, and they plan to release a new EP later this year. Keep your ears open for them – they’re coming to take over Denver, and coming fast.
