[REVIEW] Amely – Hello World

Hot off the heels of PureVolume’s Top 20 Unsigned Bands of 2009 comes the power pop/upbeat rock quartet Amely, freshly signed to Fearless Records. Hello World, the title of their first full length album is somewhat ironic and appropriate, since they’re making their first official debut to the world. The first thing that hits me with this album is lead singer Petie Pizzaro’s vocals. It’s no exaggeration to say he has a very pretty voice. If I woke up and had a voice like his, I wouldn’t be upset. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing that stood out to me for this 8-track CD. It was enjoyable, don’t get me wrong, but most songs sounded very similar to one another. For example, the first two tracks sounded almost identical. It switched to track 2 and I had to look back to figure out if I’d heard that song before.

On the upside, to counter my negativity, the music doesn’t get old. A lot of the same thing isn’t always bad. I didn’t feel the urge to skim through the CD at all. As a matter of fact, I was rocking out quite the bit. It never has that tired “Okay, I need to listen to something else” feel to it. “Say Goodbye,” probably my favorite track on the album, really has a good paced, power-rock feel to it, very upbeat and energetic. “Now Or Never,” the inaugural track has that rocky tambourine sound in the background, which really gives it a happy sound to it, even though the lyrics are a very edgy tale about going for a girl when he has the shot, or missing it forever. It’s angsty, it’s fun, it’s repetitive, but it’s not bad.

“Have You Ever Known” is a real difference in the album, sounding more like a Daughtry-esque pop rock slow song than anything else heard prior. They utilize an orchestral sound, acoustic guitars and gang vocals, but in a choral way. Lastly, the titular track and album singer “Hello World” This song is just about the meatiest, most substance filled song on the album. The vocals are stronger, and the composition is great, there’s really a lot going on in this track. If you’re a fan or Breathe Carolina, All Time Low, and even Daughtry, I think you’ll really find some enjoyment in this album. An album that manages to stay catchy, even with a lack of variety.

2.5/5