Customer Reviews

Ameritown

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eastern Conference Champions have successfully blown me away with a phenomenal first album. Having been lucky enough to see these guys many times, as well as owning two of their EPs, the boys from Southampton PA (currently calling LA home) surprised me. The staples were all there, including a totally reworked recording of "Nice Clean Shirt" who knew you could improve that song? As well as some amazing new songs my favorite of which is "Rabbit Hole."
Josh, Greg, and Vern offer a breath of fresh air, and truly allow themselves to come through on the album. The CD has something for everyone. pick up a copy, and look for ECC to come to your town!

Eastern Conference Champions are your new favorite band--you just don't know it yet.

Ameritown, the debut LP from Southampton, PA (suburb of Philadelphia) rockers, Eastern Conference Champions is full of niccotine-like, addicting tunes. Basically, these songs rock. Consider it the years most beautiful/gritty American rock album.

With it's epic choruses and breakdowns coupled with stripped down, sometimes delicate verses, these songs will get you singing aloud in the car, no doubt.

Comparisons to coldplay and smashing pumpkins seem to linger around the band, however producer Owen Morris said it best "ECC sounds like no one f*cking else." Outside of Joshua Ostrander's nasal vocals, and a piano, you dont hear any other similarities between the groups. What you do hear is original American rock.

No two songs sound the same on the record and that is clearly evident from opener "the Box" to closer "Hollywood." All of the songs are great, but for me the best are, "Stutter," "To The Wind," "Rabbit Hole" and "the Box."

The only problems I have with the album is that some of the songs fro their EP, did not make the cut. The EP's version of "Nice Clean Shirt" was better and why the band chose the song "Hollywood" over "Springteen" is anybodies guess. Otherwise an amazing album and one that more people than not will be talking about soon enough...

Disillusioned but driven to make "It" better: ECC lays down a thought
provoking, memory jogging assortment of dazzling styles, textures and
functions. These guys have obviously grown up by negotiating the tough
choices; in life, love and routes taken. Each track plays out like a
road weary yet sturdy study in compassion and the elements that define
our human need to be embraced. Angst ridden and warbling, this is
Americana at its finest; A Sign of the Times that brings us back home!

Exceptionally produced and masterfully communicated by this trio, the
true depth of the message moves in and out between the fabric of the
musicianship and lyrics; each one lending support for the other while
painting a picture that resides between the two.

Ameritown speaks to those that have lived and those that have yet to
experience the highs and lows of our society. It is at once a
nostalgic trip and instructional curriculum designed for a 21st
century that insists we listen closely and challenges us to
reflect on the lessons contained within. It's not hard to imagine a
representative cross-section of our culture tuning in to ECC in an
effort to clarify their own individual paths.

Moody, polished, haunting, festive, dusty, melodic ...Ameritown is a
recollection of where we've been and what we've done.

One could argue that what lies ahead is less important, but what is
made clear throughout this brilliant set is that ECC is ALL of
us...everyday!

Embrace it, live it, it's yours...Ameritown.

What can I say besides: This album is amazing!

I first heard of ECC when they opened for VAST back in January at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. I was so impressed, that I bought their album at the concert and it hasn't left my CD player since.

Since then, I have bought 8 copies of their album to give to my friends and family.

It is rare when I give such high marks for a band or an album but this one definitely deserves it.

It's been over a year since the release of the Eastern Conference Champions' debut EP `The Southampton Collection' last summer, and many fans have been eagerly awaiting the birth of the follow-up album. `Ameritown' certainly proves worth the wait. `The Box' leads off the playlist and, besides being one of my favorite songs on the album, is an incredibly catchy and entertaining song. The rest of the album alternates between songs like the enthusiastic `Single Sedative' and the sauntering `Rabbit Hole'. All the tracks are genuinely well-written and reveal very good recording and production. There are even three songs from the EP which show up in various forms of re-production. Overall `Ameritown' is an excellent album and one undoubtedly worth purchasing. Incidentally, ECC puts on an awesome live show, so see them if they tour in your area.