Tom Oakes and Kyle Lobeck who go by the name More Amor held themselves up in a tiny Los Angeles apartment and wrote 14 beat-driven songs that were eventually produced by Mike Green. Sure, beat-driven electronic filled tracks can lose their luster quickly but that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy the infectious tracks like Same Damn Song and OB Forever that are accompanied by hooky choruses and harmonies. I would love see to see this duo assemble a real band, but for now, you can purchase their self released album on iTunes.
More Amor. I’d like to note that “Young Hollywood” is a good song… chorus is killer
Yeah I think getting their name right is kind of a big deal. I do like the name “More Armor” though
we got it right now, funny, we rechecked the name 5 times and still got it wrong..what the hell is AMOR? A greek mythical god?
I believe it’s spanish for “love” Dean.
Learned something in that class.
typical dated emo and very bland.
and I don’t even know what the heck they are talking about in their songs.
Fold It Up almost sounds like a Lakes song.
Past being totally in touch with everything teenage girls want to hear, there’s no substance. There’s no real hooks & everything is autotuned to shit. It’s like mTV’s Laguna Beach set to music.
They’re too dependent on being “cutesy” to ever become a “real band.”
This act is an unadulterated culture buy-in, a premeditated play at getting laid.
I’ll never understand how you can pimp these bands that stand for absolutely nothing, Dean. It really makes me wonder what it is you get out of music. I understand what certain teenage girls could get out of this, but your interest completely baffles me.
Jon – I can’t argue with your critique, of course the songs are auto-tuned to crap. They have the homogenized sound that killed the music. Although, I did hear some cool hooks and melodies which is why I suggested that it would be cool to assemble a real band.
That’s the problem today, producers and artists don’t want to put effort in. Instead of getting a real drum player, we can sample the drums..
Gone are the days of Springsteen working on a chorus for 14 hours straight. Gone are the days of the producer spending a day on drum sounds and a guitar tone.
Anyone can spend 14 hours working on a chorus. The real issue here is whether or not a chorus is worth spending 14 hours on.
Bruce Springsteen had authenticity & substance. He had songwriting. And he had something to say. Something worth refining. Something that was going to endure.
This is vapid, cheesy, disposable production for vapid, cheesy, disposable songs. Otherwise it would just be awkward.
But Joe Chicarelli still produces like that. Just listen to Icky Thump.
Then again, the first Black Sabbath record was recorded in a weekend. And the Beatles were flying through songs at the end of their career. It’s all about the songs… bringing substance & authenticity & songwriting to the table. If you don’t have anything to say, it doesn’t matter how it’s produced.
Jon – of course, songwriting, talent, vocals always comes first. Rubin behind the board wont change anything without those key ingredients. Regardless, I don’t think Springsteen’s songs would have the same impact with beats in the background.
Look at Chris Cornell’s record with Timbaland.
http://www.myspace.com/chriscornell
Ugh! what the hell happened!
I wish Chris Cornell consulted with me before he went in with Timbaland. I am absolutely positive I would have talked himself out of it! Who are guiding these artists? Bad managers and bad record people…
Chris Cornell working with Timbaland blows, sure. But it works for Beck. And it works for Gnarls Barkley.
Chris Cornell’s problems extend far beyond sampled beats, he just no longer has anything to say. He’s walking the red carpets these days & raising kids. He’s got the Dave Navarro disease. If he were to try & record Superunknown today I just wouldn’t be able to believe in it. I’d rather listen to Yogi’s band any day of the week. Or even Winston Audio
And More Amor’s problems extend beyond the beats, too. It’s the absence of substance.