Amateur Takes Control sounded better when I was drunk. If questioned on a survey about drinking habits I would check the box marked "Seldom", but upon celebrating my 30th birthday one thing led to another, and when I heard this band I actually got excited. All the other times prior to this moment I was underwhelmed.You, Me and All the Things Unsaid is their first album, and upon my first listen I was unable to focus on the music. It is perfect post-rock background noise.

Now, why is this? Let's explore, booze aside. Amateur Takes Control (ATC) are mostly in their teens, and like Yndi Halda they have banana boats of talent, mostly found in their guitar player Adel. They sound pretty new to this thing they heard about, this mysterious post-rock music. The band are capable enough, but the thing that sticks out the most is that this band sounds young. They have that punk rock flavour that is both a blessing and a disadvantage. Their songs often sound too busy or unfocused, which can be great when they unleash the material that they really want to play, deep in their bones: punk rock. It's as if they used to be a punk band and decided to shield those tendencies with a shift in stylistic gears. Perhaps it's the band's players, who likely cite punk roots and influences. The drummer is playing way too aggressively to help complement the very Tracer AMC-sounding guitars. The difference between the drummer of Tracer AMC and this drummer is the texture. And ability. Actually, just about everything. The drumming is their weakest link. ATC have a bit too much pounding per pound, if you get my drift. It's an unbalanced sound.

I don't usually hear about bands from the Singapore underground. In fact, I never have, but ATC are an indication that the music scene in Singapore is at least decent. There is a vivacity to their song-writing that I imagine translates much better at a live show. "The Difference is..." is a tame but handsome, twinkly-star piece that climaxes with a juicy punk-rock burnout. You can tell that the band was just itching to get to this moment, and finally, on track four, they rock out. "Ghost Promise" is a good song, and is the only piece where ATC use space to their advantage. Piano and warm reverb-picked guitar lulls us to sleep, allowing a very inspired breakbeat jam to enter, featuring lots of fretwork and hammers. Adel also plays us some delightful acoustic guitar on the intermission-esque "Watching Shoes and Paperback Books." There's plenty of good parts. It just doesn't quite go together yet.

Their guitars sound too similar from song to song. Even between the two guitars, there isn't enough of a difference to distinguish them. That's why I think they write much better songs when they use the piano, and complement it with a singular guitar. For instance, "Sayonara Supergirl (Muon Remix)" is the most unique piece and sounds like an evolved Amateur Takes Control. Must be the remix treatment. "Ghost Promise" features another rare piano appearance, giving the listener a much needed change of pace. Still, if the band wishes to capture a sound that's unique to themselves and not get the "sounds like..." laundry list of bands thrown their way, they might use their great piano work more and just let loose. Who cares about what other post rock sounds like? Rock out! I know ATC want to summon the punk demons and burn the barn down more often than they do.You, Me and All the Things Unsaid sees a talented band of young people still figuring out how to blend together and find their voice by trying to sound older than they are.

-Nayt Keane