Amos Pitsch – Acid Rain LP (JAC World)

Today I have a chance to present a second full-length release by Amos Pitsch, a multi-instrumental artist from Appleton, Wisconsin, known for his involvement in Tenement, Dusk, Technicolor Teeth, Car City, Social Classics, Harlequin Kid, Big Eyes, Chinese Telephones, Paul Collins Beat, Privilege, Tim Schweiger & The Middle Men, and Crutch The Memory label/studio. As you can see, Pitsch is a very busy man, but he still manages to write, compose, record, and produce songs for his solo outlet. Acid Rain is his 2020 full-length album that comes as more than an appropriate continuation of Lake Effect, a debut album released in 2017. Besides these two releases, Amos Pitsch also has a digital single named Shift Toward Tenderness and a couple of split EPs with Spencer Tweedy and Julia Blair. I highly advise you to check out all these recordings.

I was pleasantly surprised once Pitsch sent me the album for consideration. It’s a set of music genres rarely seen nowadays on an underground music scene and certainly something we haven’t had on our pages before. Acid Rain carries ten impressive rock compositions served through a comprehensive collection of various but complementary music genres. It’s nearly mindblowing how Amos Pitsch implemented each genre into these numbers without spoiling the constantly pleasant listening experience. The entire album follows the simultaneously abrasive and ear-appealing ambiance that keeps you motivated to listen to every upcoming composition and another one after that. Don’t be surprised if you end up repeating this album because that’s what happened to me a couple of times too.

Acid Rain carries the aesthetics of classic rock, garage rock, power pop, baroque pop, country, and folk music, but you’ll probably stumble upon some other genres as well. This album reminds me of all sixties and seventies movies I used to watch when I was younger. You can even imagine foggy forests, plaid shirts, suede jackets, long beards, and muscle cars while listening to these songs because somehow, Acid Rain carries those aesthetics in one way or another. And I am telling this in a most positive manner. The albums capable of resembling a particular era are a pure rarity nowadays. Therefore, Acid Rain is a bar of pure gold and proves how big creative mastermind Amos Pitsch truly is. There’s no way you’ll not enjoy these pleasant chord progressions drenched in a decent amount of crunchy distortion, baroque or power pop-infused classic rock songs, calmy ballads entirely performed on acoustic guitar, while Pitsch’s delightful chants lead the way.

What blows my mind the most is how diverse all these songs are, but Amos somehow combined them into a giant compact slab called Acid Rain. It takes a lot of talent, creativity, experience, and ideas to pull a project like this, and there’s no doubt in my mind Pitsch ultimately succeeded in his aims. Acid Rain comes on a 12″ vinyl record. I highly advise you to purchase and experience these songs on vinyl because the warm, retro ambiance appeals to the listening apparatus even more. Head to his Bandcamp page for more information about ordering.