MEET: AMBERS - ASBO Magazine

Liverpool trio AMBERS are making indie pop/rock with a little grit, or as they like to call it, 'gritpop'. Made up of Ream Radomes, Tom Bruce and Liam Shields, the three-piece combine fuzzy guitars, distorted synths and pop hooks. Whether they're chasing that 'lump in your throat' feeling or describing their genre as 'chewing on a power cable', AMBERS aren't afraid to have a little fun with their music. With their second EP 'Giving Up the Fight', the band lean further into their grittier live sound without losing the catchy melodies at their core. From making everything themselves to dreaming up future collaborations with the likes of Dijon, Phoebe Bridgers and, rather brilliantly, Bob Mortimer, AMBERS are standing out in Liverpool's indie scene, and we can see why. ASBO caught up with the band to chat creative inspiration, determination and what's next.

1. Who are AMBERS?

AMBERS are Ream Radomes, Tom Bruce and Liam Shields, a 3 piece outfit from Liverpool. Taking a holistic DIY approach towards their brand of indie pop/rock music, from the recordings and production to the music videos and live shows.

2. For someone who is yet to discover you, how would you describe your sound?

We like to describe ourselves as a ‘gritpop’ band. kind of what it says on the tin, fuzzy guitars, distorted synths and pop hooks !

3. What sparks your creativity when making music?

We have loads of influences and things that spark ideas for us, it could be other songs that we’ve been listening to recently or someone messing about on an instrument and then building an idea or melody from there. Lyrically, we like drawing from our own personal experiences and chasing that ‘lump in your throat’ sort of feeling because the best songs make you feel something.

4. Describe your genre as a flavour!

Chewing on a power cable.

5. What would be your desert island movie?

REAM - Groundhog Day

TOM - Groundhog Day

LIAM - Groundhog Day

6. Is there a story behind the band’s name?

Honestly, not really, we were stuck on a name for ages until Liam got a can of deodorant with ‘vintage amber’ as one of the notes and we ran with it.

7. What would you say is your greatest strength and weakness as a band?

greatest strength: we can do everything ourselves

greatest weakness: we have to do everything ourselves.

8. What advice would you give to aspiring artists?

We still see ourselves as aspiring artists, so all we’d say really is just keep turning up and believe in what you’re doing.

9. Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?

REAM - Dijon. I love how emotive and organic his songwriting feels. ‘Absolutely’ is one of my favourite recent albums. I’d love to write a song with him.

TOM - Phoebe Bridgers. I always like when a lyric can be both sad and funny, and she does it best.

LIAM - Bob Mortimer. Don’t know what we’d do but I know we’d have a good time.

10. What song have you got on repeat right now?

REAM - Take It To The Limit - Eagles, been on a massive Eagles kick again recently and this one is one of my favourites, the melodies are beautiful.

TOM - Bottle - Remi Wolf. Catchy as F**K, and the production is punchy and concise at the same time.

LIAM - The Sun Will Never Settle - Kingfishr. I love the sentiment behind this song. I feel that to be able to write a song so honest and loving towards someone you are no longer with but still have so much love for, is more special than writing a song for someone you are with.

11. This year and beyond, what can we expect?

We’ve got a few shows coming up as well as a hometown headline show in December, which we’ll be debuting a few new tunes at! Aside from that though, we’ve been working on loads of new music at AMBERS HQ (Tom’s bedroom) and we’ve got loads of plans for some fun stuff like live sessions and music videos, so keep an eye out!