Aren’t We Amphibians hit the ground at a full sprint with their most recent release, an EP titled “Emergency, Exit” through marquis DIY label Thumbs Up Records. The “ballroom emo” trailblazers released a single on Sept. 19th, “carrion”, also featured on the EP coming just two weeks after. This being the second EP, it only relights the excitement flame I’ve had for this band since last winter when I first heard “Hospital Cafe” from EP1.
To get it off my chest, I think AWA has turned many watchful eyes in their direction with this release, throwing their name in the hat with a loaded fall season of new music. I quickly fell in love with it in many ways, and by quickly I mean that it has been on replay since it first came out. If that doesn’t excite you enough, AWA successfully hit for the triple crown of emo by throwing in a clapping bridge and a song with both “fuck!’ and “woo!” just a couple instrumentals apart.
AWA wastes absolutely no time engaging the listener in “Yard Work”, opening with a hypnotizing marching band snare and looped melody to get your head bobbing. This song grabbed me up so fast, especially when it breaks and you hear guitarist Joshua Talbot scream out “watch it all burn!’. I smiled so big during this bridge, the screaming, the drums. I daydreamed about it live and that smile continued throughout the entirety of my time listening.
The opening track of the EP is my favorite track as well, showcasing the trio’s wide range of accuracy and the ability to keep the listener waiting for the next surprise. It sounds cliche, but I legitimately replayed this track three times before moving on to the second track, “Built For Bugs”.
Pulling from bands like Origami Angel and Two Knights, they keep the fun going in the second song, multiple tempos and blast beats that change continuously throughout the song but go together seamlessly. Built For Bugs also gives us the first look at the “ballroom” sounding waltz on the ride cymbal during a few bridges. It’s a theme that pops up a few times, also in the popular single “Carrion” featured two songs later.
I cannot get enough of these two songs back-to-back, it feels like they were made for each other, a duo that almost forces you to listen to the rest of the album. I love how they keep randomly switching it up and get heavy in the middle of the song, and Josh’s heavier vocals remind me a lot of Jack M. Senff’s project William Bonney.
The surprise breakdowns continue in “Lazlo” a perfect mellow instrumental song used as a bridge into Carrion. Now I’m no musical theory expert, but at least one instrumental on an album or EP just feels so right. Like taking a break but to perk up your ears and really understand how good these three are at their craft.
Carrion was released a few weeks prior to the EP, a ballad sounding track, that paints a picture of someone fighting inner battles.Packing bridges with twinkly riffs galore, the sea chanty groove pauses for a fun switch in the middle, clapping along to their instruments. This is was a great song to scream along to, but it was also awesome to hear how AWA sounded just like they did in my ears at work.
More themes become prevalent in closing songs “Lobster, Party!” and “Closing Shift”. Themes like questioning self worth and relationships, with lyrics like “welcome to your life/it’s useless” and “will I ever see you again?”. The last two songs, in my opinion, really connect the most with the “target audience”. These are common things that young adults often struggle to cope with, not wanting to maybe accept their position and wondering if they are good enough to keep their head above water.
The album closes with the final therapeutic outro, chanting out a final lyric that conveys an emotion that a lot of us have felt before. “One day I’ll be fine you wont have to deal with things of my design, like you have been”. Feeling like a burden to people when we get emotional is a response that I personally struggle with sometimes. People can feel that everyone would be better without me around and they put that emotion into words beautifully. This is another theme that I think they really nailed, portraying very real, specific, emotions on paper.
I knew I had to see this group ASAP or at least talk to them a little bit about my excitement over the EP. I was able to interview Josh over zoom, only after he finished door dashing, but I was ready to travel for them. Luckily enough, AWA was scheduled to play at the much anticipated, sold out, music festival Fauxchella VI. In true DIY fashion, the group seen their van’s transmission blow in Albuquerque, NM, forcing them to miss the first couple shows off their midwest tour with their new friends in Equipment. I was able to still get to a show, in a perfect Kalamazoo basement, and really get to live out the songs I had been streaming daily. When I need to see a band live, I try my hardest to make it happen and I’m glad I made the trip on a rainy Friday night. Huge shoutout to the folks at the Black Lodge, it was a super intimate space that drew a large number of people including my own toddler.
Being brothers has its perks, and for Tyler and Brandon Cunningham I’m sure there isn’t as much of the drama that can come along with making music with your friends. Josh and crew are some of the most likable people I have met in my scene travels, staying true to their mission statement he mentioned to me, “pick up and instrument and play music with your best friends”. Brandon even described the midwest as “their people” after just a couple days of being here, explaining that its much different than the SoCal scene that offers more of a skramz/screamo populous.
Staged with their 45 gallon trash bags full of treasured merch and guitar peddles attached to skateboards, they really proved what was coming through my speakers days before. A super talented group that I think can really hammer out hits for a long time, even in this early stage. I can’t wait to see what’s next for one of my new favorite bands.
FFO: Unamused Dave, Origami Angel, Algernon Cadwallader, Vs Self, Snowing
https://arentweamphibians.bandcamp.com/album/emergency-exit
http://linktr.ee/arentweamphibians
AWA- “Thank you to thumbs up records, alex estrada , and mike moschetto for helping make this project a reality. thank you to see through person , swiss army wife , small talk. , fieldrush , just let me go , vs self , widowdusk , so concerned , and all the other bands we’ve played shows with since we started playing music. finally, thank you to our families and friends for supporting us through this whole thing. awa forever <3”
credits
released October 3, 2023
joshua talbot – guitar / vox
tyler cunningham – bass
brandon cunningham – drums
recorded by alex estrada at the pale moon ranch
mixed and mastered by mike moschetto
The Diygest 
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