Wednesday 22 February 2012

Pordenone series: Amon + Members Of Parliament


Put Pordenone on the map. This little piece of land: close to the mountains, close to the sea, close to Venice, any foreigner could think of it as an ideal place to live.
What an undeniable truth when you are in the age of retirement!
However, I am admittedly glad I grew up in that town rather than in any other city or village of the far north-eastern area of Italy: in fact, compared to the collective sadness that distinguishes the surroundings, Pordenone had several blooming seasons, especially in the decades 1980 and 1990.

I have already posted about Stellina, and I feel 2 other bands can be associated to them: Amon and the Members Of Parliament.Not only the same hometown is the reason for such linkage, but also the sharing of some members, and some sort of continuity between the three bands, as if each one were the natural prosecution of the previous one.The same short-existance and obscurity can be mentioned at last.


1997: While Stellina was about to disband, one of their members, Davide and 3 other friends, gave birth to Amon, a four-piece band influenced by Maximillian Colby, Sleepytime Trio, Four Hundred Years, Shotmaker, The Hal Al Shedad.Despite a couple of line-up changes along the years, they recorded a demo tape - never released and lost in someone's house - in summer 1998, and their self titled cd with Azzali (Burning Defeat's bass player) in 1999, released on Otto Records.


Amon, 2000

In the meantime new listenings were influencing their sound: Slint, Don Caballero, Hoover and Tortoise among many, and, according to this transformation, in 2000 they were ready to compose some new songs.Which would have sounded pretty much like this track.
Recordings though, were always deleterious for Amon and in 2001 their adventure together was over.






Band: Amon
Title: s/t
Label: Otto Rec.
Year: 1999
Genre: old school emo/ post rock
Location: Pordenone, Friuli
Related bands: Members Of Parliament, Stellina, Pain, Dejligt, Olek, Circlesouth

1. Nemesis
2. 10th September

3. While You Watch All The Keys Are Guaranteed

4. Different Frequences

5. ***

6. Sequencer


Amon.rar



A new chapter for three of them, had already started in 1999/2000: signed up Baloo (already drummer in With Love and Stellina, and now Smart Cops' singer) on the mic, they bought a stock of black clothes and, riding the wave of the surf-ish punk hc along the lines of the GSL sound, became the (official) five Members Of Parliament.The album was recorded in 2002 and was meant to be released on Heroine Records as a split with To The Ansaphone.Due to unclear reasons, such as a significant line-up change and some label's issues, the album was never released.An appearance at the Dance Of Days Festival in 2002 gave them national notoriety, even though they soon disappeared at the same speed that brought them to be much talked about.



Band: Members Of Parliament
Title: n/a
Label: unreleased
Year: 2002
Genre: surf synth punk
Location: Pordenone, Friuli
Related bands: Stellina, Amon, Olek, With Love, Smart Cops, Man On Wire


Members Of Parliament.rar