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LP
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Like plenty of other NYC alterna-rockers, Ambulance LTD have a Britpop fetish. On their first album, they take it to the extreme by traveling to London to work with hitmaking producer Jim Abbiss (the Music). The first single, "Primitive (The Way I Treat You)," skips over Oasis and goes straight to the alterna-rock source with its Velvetsy guitars and nonchalant chorus: "I’ve got the time/I found a way/I really want you/You really want to." Frontman Marcus Congleton puts on his best "Walk on the Wild Side" mutter during the verse, and the band call their own bluff by closing the disc with an unlisted cover of Lou Reed’s "Ocean." But at least they sound as if they’d learned their tricks from Lou himself, not the Strokes, and the rest of the album combines familiar influences in new ways. Opener "Yoga Means Union" is a shoegazing instrumental that jolts itself awake with a quote from "Gimme Some Lovin’ "; "Stay Where You Are" works up a climax worthy of Sonic Youth before giving way to a sweet rainy-day chorus. On the stately "Michigan," the group get strummy and show off some aching vocal harmonies. Sometimes Ambulance are too polite for their own good, but this is a promising debut. (Ambulance LTD perform this Tuesday, June 1, at T.T. the Bear’s Place, 10 Brookline Street in Central Square; call 617-492-BEAR.)
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