Ambulance LTD: "Arbuckle's Swan Song"

Ambulance LTD at Mercury Lounge in 2009, from the HAD Archive

Tucked away as the second track on the Ambulance LTD's New English EP, "Arbuckle's Swan Song" is the kind of song that you'd swear you've heard a thousand times, the first time you hear it. Drenched in lush, Steely Dan-esque guitars, the tune has a smooth character and style that is reminiscent of the best of 70's rock. In short, it's another reason why we continue to be in love with Ambulance LTD.

If that's not enough for you, you can head to myspace, where the band has posted demos for a number of new tunes including "Ivy", "Ladyfingers", and "Upsetter". Yum.

mp3: Ambulance LTD - Arbuckle's Swan Song

stream: Ambulance LTD - New Demos (MySpace)

Ambulance LTD Drops Live Tracks From Mercury Lounge Show

Ambulance LTD At Mercury Lounge, from the HAD Archive

You may recall that a few weeks back we posted a link to an Ambulance LTD radio session. Well, we kept loading up the session so frequently that we finally did ourselves (and you) a favor, and yanked the band's performance of "Ivy" out as its own mp3. Suffice it to say, we love the tune: it's got all of the measured funkiness of the band's first record, while at the same time showing some clear growth. Well, just as we were getting to posting that track for you, we discovered that we've been beaten to the punch.

The band has posted their entire show from Mercury Lounge as lossless WAV files. We were at the gig, and positively loved it, so it's with no small dose of excitement that we bring you this news. Not only are the downloads lossless and free, but the set is chock full of the band's new material, which is positively killer. We've provided a link to the download page below, as well as the live version of "Ivy". We have no idea how long this will be up, so our recommendation is to get over there and download this killer set ASAP - you can thank us later!

mp3: Ambulance LTD - "Ivy" (Live At Mercury Lounge)
download: Ambulance LTD Live At Mercury Lounge

Ambulance LTD Played Mercury Lounge - Pictures, Review, Setlist

Never mind that they haven't been touring extensively, haven't released new material in three years, and have had a complete lineup turnover save for one Marcus Congleton: last night at Mercury Lounge, Ambulance LTD proved beyond a doubt that they have been hard at work creating awesome, inspiring music. And, if the crowd was any indication, the production delays have done nothing to dull the enthusiasm of the band's fans.

One of the things that has doubtless worked in Ambulance's favor is the fact that their first record is ridiculously dynamic. It's stylistically exciting, and despite being highly accessible, it holds up remarkably well on repeat listens. Last night it became immensely clear that much of that inspiration is rooted in Marcus Congleton's simultaneous ability to lead the band down a very clear melodic path, while at the same time pushing the boundaries on what could definitely be considered "jams". The band's ability to toe the line between the two makes for a thrilling live experience.

It also worked to the band's advantage that they have amassed a solid repertoire beyond that first record. The setlist, which easily could have been just a run through of the band's lone LP, was solid balance of the new and the old. What's more, it doesn't hurt that the new material stands up amazingly well amongst its older brethren. In particular, the new tune "Ivy" blew our minds. The song managed to combine a funky dance vibe with a rock jam in the best way imaginable. (You can stream a demo of the tune on the band's myspace.)

Towards the end of the night, the band did what we would typically call one of the riskiest moves in the business: they covered Dylan. There are so many reasons why doing so could be a blunder, a farce, or just plain not work. Well, we're here to tell you: it worked, and it worked well. The band dove into "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You", and delivered it with all the subtle rock sensibility that graces the rest of their work. Not only that, but Congleton managed to inflect Dylan's vocal line with a fair bit more melody. We know it's a travesty to say the cover beats out the original, but, um - yeah.

So, there you have it: if you're not getting the gist, we loved the show. It'd been five years since we last saw Ambulance, and three years since a new record, and we couldn't be happier to see that they're not even remotely slowing town. We know it's tough to wait on a band when there's so little to go on, but that's why we're here to help you. Without a doubt, whenever it comes, by whatever means, the next chapter from Ambulance is going to be well worth the wait. Promise.

Setlist
--
Instruments (instrumental)
Paper Doll
Upsetter
New English
Country Gentleman
Allison
Ivy
Ladyfinger
Ophelia
Anecdote
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You (Bob Dylan Cover)
Heavy Lifting
--
Stay Where You Are
Young Urban

Many more pictures at the HAD Archive

mp3: Ambulance LTD - Live On WNYC Soundcheck

Ambulance LTD Posts New Tracks To MySpace

We already mentioned how psyched we are for Ambulance LTD's upcoming shows next week, so needless to say that we were doubly excited that the band has posted three new exclusive tracks to their myspace profile.

There aren't any titles for the tracks, but there is a lot of awesomeness. We're more than a little happy to say that these tracks easily stand up in strength and quality to the band's released material, which bodes extremely well for their second full length, whenever it does drop. Meanwhile we'll have to cope with internet streaming goodness, and live show awesomeness. Not too bad!

Ambulance LTD are at Union Hall August 17th, and Mercury Lounge August 18th

Stream: Ambulance LTD New Tracks (@ myspace)

Ambulance LTD Working With John Cale, Mercury Lounge And Union Hall In August

Here at HAD, Ambulance LTD's debut LP has long held a high spot on the replayability scale. The record is such a fantastic mix of genres and songwriting, combined with fantastic production, that it simply begs to be listened to on repeat. Given that, we've been a bit downtrodden about the fact that the band has experienced so much tumult over the past few years. The lineup has almost completely changed, apparently there were record company arguments, and most importantly, the band has only released one EP of new material. Well, apparently that's all about to change.

Not only has the band been recording in LA with rock heavyweight John Cale (see video, above), but they've also lined up two shows in mid August that we're guessing will feature some of that new material. The two shows, on August 17th and 18th, will take place at Union Hall and Mercury Lounge, respectively. While it's been a number of years (five, to be exact) since we last saw the band live, we can tell you that their live show is well worth your time. We'll see you out there!

mp3: Ambulance LTD - Arbuckle's Swansong