Pink Heaven

If you’re a longtime fan of Jealous Butcher Records, you already recognize the name Cord Amato. He’s the musician and songwriter who helped steer Wow & Flutter from its droning, post-rock early work into pure psych rock territory. And he’s one of the architects behind the Krautrock assault of Møtrik, a band whose 2018 album Safety Copy that one critic called an “immediate [and] compelling listen” that “revs up the rock throttle while retaining the celestial underpinnings of their debut.”

For his latest project, Slanted Floors, Amato isn’t straying far from the musical path he has carved out for himself. Some of the material originated as W&F tunes, and everything bears the clear mark of his varied influences. But what has seeped into these 10 tracks is a dreaminess and calm that grew out of the humble genesis of this project.

With the recording studio that he shares with Møtrik bandmate Dave Fulton nearby his day job, Amato challenged himself to pop into Pinebox Studios everyday for a month to record a guitar and drum loop into ProTools. At the end of the month, he had 30 new ideas to use as a foundation for new songs. Out of these experiments came the heady, ruminative songs that make up debut album Pink Heaven, such as the lullaby-like “Together Alone” and the lava lamp drip of “Big A,” as well as the more direct grooves of “Cranes and Crows” and the motorik-Americana of album closer “Burn Song.”

Never intended to be simply a solo project, Amato fleshed out the music with the help of his bandmates, friends, and family. Fulton and fellow Møtrik-er Erik Golts were on hand to lend synth and bass, respectively. W&F bassist Ryan Matheson laid down bass tracks for a pair of songs. And perhaps most importantly, Amato’s wife Tammy Heuer added a vital hit of otherworldliness with her backing vocals.

No matter if you’re a longstanding fan of Amato’s work or are hearing his unique take on the rock idiom for the first time, Pink Heaven will find its way into that sweet spot where the intoxicating pull of sounds from the past and the thrilling, constant progression of modern music meet.