Steal This Track: The Amends, Kentucky Street Parlor Pickers, Le Divorce and Yo Soy Sauce
By Eryc Eyl | August 1st, 2011 | No Comments »
Colorado rock quartet the Amends just released its debut album. Steal a track here. Photo courtesy of the band.
The Amends are a rock-n-roll band that revels in being a rock-n-roll band. The quartet plays guitars, bass, keys and drums with the glee of four youngsters who just discovered their dad’s record collection. Hopping freely from garage rock to blues to punk to indie pop, frontman and guitarist Drew Weikart, keyboardist/guitarist Tyler Taylor, bassist Chris Childress and drummer Shay Byington prove they’ve done their homework and honed their chops to the point where they can passionately and convincingly master nearly any permutation of good ol’ rock-n-roll.
In fact, if there’s one thing wrong with the Amends self-titled debut album, it’s that the band seems to lack a cohesive sound. They’re so busy trying on other people’s hats that they lost their heads. Nevertheless, this powerful debut introduces a band that promises great things. Steal “Fall My Way” for a taste of what the Amends can do.

Kentucky Street Parlor Pickers released their debut album in May. Steal a track from it today. Photo courtesy of the band.
If roadhouse rock with a sense of humor, a hint of bluegrass and the strong scent of whiskey on its breath sounds like it would hi”t the spot, you’ll get a hoot and a holler out of “Barn Burner.” Just try not to follow the Pickers’ orders when you steal “Shake Your Molasses.”

Chris Durant (left), Kitty Vincent, Ryan Stubbs and Joe Grobelny are Denver's Le Divorce. Photo by Alexis Clements.
If you’ve enjoyed previous Le Divorce releases, you’ll still find plenty to like here, but you’ll find the band challenging itself to find new ideas as well. Not every idea works, but it’s great to hear artists who aren’t content to simply replicate yesterday’s successes. You’ll get a sense for the new sounds the group is exploring when you steal “Shout.”

Stephen Brackett (left) and Justin Gitlin are Yo Soy Sauce. Photo by Ryan Policky.
While “Juke Box” is light-hearted and fun, the brains behind it seem constitutionally incapable of restraining their intellects, even in a song that uses the word “booty” a dizzying number of times. Combining ’90s booty house lyrics with the frantic beats of juke and footwork house, the track is an all-but-irresistible dance floor filler. We’re only offering a stream of the song today, but you can pick it up from iTunes tomorrow. If you’re really ambitious, pop over to the Yo Soy Sauce webpage, where you can download the stems and create your own remix.
Please note that downloads offered via Steal This Track are intended to whet your appetite, and are NOT CD-quality recordings. If you want those, please support the artists by buying their music and/or seeing them live.
If you’re a band or musician ready to expose your fresh sounds to the readers of Reverb, email your tracks — along with any interesting facts about them, as well as a photo or album art — to Eryc Eyl for consideration.
Eryc Eyl is a veteran music journalist, critic and Colorado native who has been neck-deep in local music for many years. Check out Steal This Track for local music you can HEAR, and the Mile High Makeout for stories about Denver musicians doing extraordinary things. Against his mother’s advice, Eryc has also been known to tweet. You can also follow Steal This Track on Twitter. Sorry, Mom.


