THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Cinematic — is there a better word to describe Andrya Ambro’s songwriting? On No More Blue Skies, her third record as Gold Dime, the Queens-based composer’s songs are a widescreen, fiercely intense, hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck kind of art rock. These songs are not for the faint of heart. Not pretty but beautiful, rigorous. The angular drums dart off in unexpected directions. The guitars tremble and shake. When Ambro opens her mouth to sing, her vocals are a call to arms. Dance, if you dare.
A galvanizing record of bleak noir textures, No More Blue Skies is the closest Ambro’s come yet to capturing the soundscape that lives inside of her head. It is also the record that most closely captures the live show experience that is essential to Ambro’s practice as an artist. Ambro’s background is as a drummer, she’s classically trained, studied jazz in school and went deep into West African percussion. Through Gold Dime, her inclinations as a drummer foreground the tapestries that are her songs. These songs are anchored in truly singular rhythms, percussion-driven moments of songwriting that constantly subvert your expectations. Her voice acts as her fifth limb; both informing and interacting with the drums.
On No More Blue Skies, she plays all the drums, sings, produces the samples and is at the helm of most of the record’s compositions. As a band, Gold Dime are a rotating ensemble, featuring talented friends Ambro has connected with in the New York music scene over two decades. All compositions exist somewhere in the magical realm where Diamanda Galas meets Laurie Anderson fronting a more menacing Can, augmeted by guitars from Les Rallizes Denudes.
To quote Brian Chase of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Andrya has a distinct knack for synthesizing punk’s primitive energy, an avant-garde sensibility and catchy vocal lines.” The record was produced entirely by Ambro, and mixed alongside longtime collaborator Nicolas Vernhes. Ambro’s former Talk Normal bandmate and current Kim Gordon guitarist Sarah Register mastered the album. The result is Gold Dime at their absolute highest resolution and an album that demands your full attention, at all times.”
