“Neuburg makes music whose dizzy mix of complexity, accessibility, and intensity are matched by few… The Men ace her arrangements with humor and discipline.” — Musician Magazine
1995. Amy and her Men are finding their “sound” in this first release, and the result is enjoyably eclectic, with songs ranging from artsy to intimate to world-beat. The Men pipe in with quirky vocals and the occasional short improv.
This review in Musician Magazine sums it up nicely:
“Though little known outside of San Francisco, Neuburg makes music whose dizzy mix of complexity, accessibility, and intensity are matched by few. For frame of reference, begin with Frank Zappa: Neuburg shares his fondness for percussive ostinati (the multiple marimbas of “Delirium”), and a willingness to segue from polyrhythmic snarls to straight-ahead riffing. She can bait a tune on the kind of hook that sinks and settles: “Into That Hole,” with its synth peeps and drones, waterfalling guitars, and hypnotic whispered vocals, is a Cocteau Twins flashback, while the album’s opening cut, “Chinatown,” is a 9/8 tangle, with rhythms twining and loosening around dissonant guitars that blare like car horns in a traffic jam. On the title track, Amy rocks the rafters with a weird mix of Celtic pipe music, Nigerian pop, and film noir. Laurie Anderson would be proud…
“All this may seem a little pretentious, but Neuburg pulls it off with virtuosic aplomb. The Men ace her arrangements with humor and discipline, while Amy darts from synth to drums and lays down vocals which betray a theatrical sensibility. Now and then the band erupts in spasmodic improvisations called “Man Jams,” which seem to function as catharses for those who find Neuburg’s charts too confining. But the music works best when she holds the reins and challenges the listener to hang on.” [Robert L. Doerschuk]
Released 1995 on Racer Records.
- Words and music by AMY X NEUBURG, Man Jams by MEN
- Arrangements by Amy X Neuburg & Men: HERB HEINZ (guitar), TIM ROOT (keyboards), JOEL DAVEL (MIDI mallets)
- Produced by AMY X NEUBURG
- Recorded and mixed by AMY X NEUBURG with HERB HEINZ
- Mastered by PAUL STUBBLEBINE
- Artwork by AMY X NEUBURG
- Photography by L.W. SCHERMERHORN, Neon photo by MIKE GREENBLATT