A symphonic quartet from Lidköping in the Western part of Sweden, existing from 1975 to 1979 but with only one single out, in 1977 on Anette, the same label Blåkulla were on. Both sides of the single ("Vandring" and "Scherzo") are here, but they obviously recorded a lot more than that – this archival disc is 80 minutes long.
Influenced by British symph rock bands, you can also spot traces from Kaipa. One blog reader described Ambra as a mix of Ragnarök and Atlas, and that's as accurate a definition as any. The synth sounds favoured by later symph bands are prevalent here supporting the fiddly guitars. They had a certain lyricism to their songs, but there's too much going on for any mood to properly settle – Ambra simply can't resist getting show-offy. I don't like the singer either; Michael Ellgren has a rather thin voice and sounds too much like a musicals reject.
Ambra indeed had ambitions and
certainly some chops, but had they been a bit more economical about
them, they wouldn't have become so overbearing.
Full album
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