Son, Ambulance

Son, Ambulance exploded onto the scene earlier this year by appearing opposite Bright Eyes on the split release Oh Holy Fools--The Music of Son, Ambulance and Bright Eyes.

Joe Knapp and company brought their youthful and refreshing take on songwriting to that release, and continue in similiar fashion with their debut full-length Euphemystic. Joe's positive outlook and childlike optimism is most apparent in the playfullness of I'll promise you will never grow old (Track 8), yet still noticable in the spanish/bossanova influenced Maria in Motion (Track 5), the lushly orchestrated Book Laid on its Binding (Track 4), and in the 'Beach Boy Harmonies' of An Instant Birth (Track 2).

This eclectic songwriting style shows many influences, but the subtle underlying vibe of a '70s piano man songwriter prevails on the multi-layered keyboard-driven tracks, as well as the stripped-down voice and piano songs.

Omaha's latest talent, Son, Ambulance, has been showing up on various Bright Eyes recordings for quite some time. Joe played on Bright Eyes' 1999 EP Every Day and Every Night, and you first heard his voice on the opening track of that EP, where Joe and Conor switched back and forth between lead vocal duties. A while back, Joe let us hear the songs that he had been writing on guitar and piano. We shortly thereafter booked time at Dead Space Recording Studio with longtime Saddle Creek producer Mike Mogis. Their first release was Son, Ambulance's first studio recording, and the first real glimpse of Joe and his capabilities as a songwriter. We are proud to have introduced this band with the four tracks from Oh Holy Fools--The Music of Son, Ambulance and Bright Eyes. And now, you can check out their debut full-length Euphemystic.