Ambassador Gun – “Promise of Rest” b/w “Dynasty” 7” (Minor Bird)
Ten to thirteen years ago, the bar for this sort of thing was set by Botch, a band so great they could turn a twee-popper’s scowl into a look of awe and wonder. Though no twee-popper by any stretch of the imagination, I was nonetheless enough of an all-over-the-board’er that I would go searching for other bands as adept at elevating their chosen agenda to that of the sublime. Guess where that got me? No, really…please guess, cuz I have no idea other than “armed with bad news for Ambassador Gun at the close of 2011” or what others might simply say is cynicism. The undeniable presence of non-Botch influences here is not worth a roll-call, as they are just like Ambassador Gun, but with more exposure and more years as keepers of Botch’s shadow … a shadow that will never be vacant. The only direct reference to Ambassador Gun’s sound I can muster comes in the form of a joke with a punch line and no lead-up. So as not to leave you hanging, that punch line is “bad cop and worse cop vocals” and I am outta here. Black vinyl in a hand-numbered edition of 500. (http://minorbirdrecords.blogspot.com)
(Andrew Earles)
