4 out of 5 Stars!

Ampledeed is a newer Prog-Rock band from California, and on 2016’s BYOB—the band’s second album—the group created eclectic and engaging music with some strong Canterbury Prog and Jazz-Rock influences, among others, often bringing to mind legendary groups such as Caravan, Hatfield and the North, and National Health, only with a mixture of both classic and modern keyboard and guitar sounds/tones.

The instrumental passages are often elaborate, with dazzling musicianship on display, while the vocal tracks occasionally contain stacked harmonies of both male and female voices and tricky lead melody lines. Interestingly enough, I find that repeated hearings of BYOB always seem to magically reveal new elements, new sounds, new twists and turns in the instrumentation, that I somehow missed during previous plays.

Overall, this is fun and impressive material, highly imaginative and worthy of inspection for fans of the genre. By the way, a tip of the hat to Aaron Goldich, Luis Flores, Max Taylor, and the rest of the studio musicians for sharing their talents with the world. If the band continues to produce albums of this lofty caliber, Ampledeed is bound to make a reputable name for itself in the Prog-Rock community.

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