Sandown has something to be proud of in this bedroom Americana trio of early-20somethings. Influenced by Ryan Adams (a little) and a clutch of easygoing folk-alt records you’ve never heard of, such as the Sun Kil Moon family of products (a lot), the songwriting is mature and serious enough to compete with — blow away, actually – many of the bands trying to mine gold out of the British folk-pop space. Chris Isaak would admire their use of spaghetti-western guitars and booze-time tempos, though those only surface when they’re of a feisty mood; mostly it’s an exercise in strumming and pining along to the drum machine, country figuring into the equation in small doses. “Timepiece” is one of the more agreeable tunes, floating a supremely unhurried vibe reminiscent of EastMountainSouth. The barter-economy-savvy band has made the entire 13-song LP (voted 33 in the Altcountrytab.ca Gambler Awards) available on their Web site. A-

— Eric W. Saeger, The Hippo Press

From the first refrain of the first song by Amber Dust, you know this is going to be a mellow affair. The trio, now a duo, is well steeped in the alt,country scene but also exhibits a smooth folksy style that will repeal to those who like their alt. a little less country. Their first full album titled Without Windows is a calming collection of well crafted songs in the folk / pop region. “Sunset Comes” and “From The Balcony” are just two of the excellent songs on the album. “Steady as a Leaf” is a nice example of musical storytelling. Throughout the album, Mike Harvey’s keyboards acts as a reliable glue to the guitar and drums of Jesse Nickerson and Shayne Greene.

In the second album, Good Things/Bad Timing, the trio become a duo with the departure of Taylor (who?). The sound is decidedly more alt.country partially due to the addition of slide pedal guitar on a number of the tracks. The songwriting is still excellent and the boys seem to have found a stable and slightly more upbeat sound that I think is an asset. “The Boat” and “Struck” sounds a little 70s country/rock a la Eagles yet there is a mellow and individual style that is all Amber Dust. The album ends with “An Unfamilar House” which is a good bittersweet ending to this fine effort.

The two albums are availble from the band’s web site in 128kbps MP3

- Marvin, Free Albums Galore