Album Review

heath:ward – Amoeba

• 18th Jun 2012

In all honesty, I’d never heard of heath:ward prior to this. This worried me. Briefed as an electronic/ cinematic collaboration, I was concerned that I may be about to listen to another boring piece of electronica that would bring nothing new or interesting to my ears.

Happily, as I sat listening to Amoeba, I found myself being drawn in by its somewhat symphonic qualities. Largely instrumental, each track has clear direction and purpose with each being different from the next.

Tracks such as River and Zipper present a traditional build up with new sounds entering throughout. Acid style synths left me with a nostalgic feel to a very well produced album.

The entire album is very ‘busy’ yet can be listened to when relaxing etc. This, in part, may be down to the lack of focus on bass and some tracks do leave me wanting more lows. That may be me, but if you’re a self confessed bass head this may not be for you. I would describe it as chilled and meticulous with a sense of care and attention given to each track.

Amoeba is released July 2nd 2012 and I would say it is worth a listen particularly during a quiet evening. If it takes your fancy, you can catch them at the following dates:

29-30 June 2012 Blissfields Festival [link]

13 July 2012 Lubstock Festival [link];
1 September 2012 Pulse Festival [link];
6 September 2012 Bestival [link]