In comparison to the stellar tunes being produced by the rest of the Saddle Creek bands,
Son, Ambulance's debut album,
Euphemystic, seems to be lacking much depth. Frontman Joe Knapp seems content to settle into a role similar to a poor man's
Ben Folds Five, while happening to be in a relationship with a slower and much drunker
Belle & Sebastian (minus Ben's ladykiller sense of humor). The entire package comes across as very poor -- something one might be able to catch at the local college coffeehouse. Everything about
Son, Ambulance -- from Knapp's voice to his lyrics to the songs themselves -- screams "average!" when placed next to the obviously very talented lineup of the rest of the Saddle Creek bands, especially another solo crooner, Conor Oberst of
Bright Eyes. Nothing on
Euphemystic comes out and grabs the listener. It's as though this were written to keep from throwing any hooks in. It's all quite odd and adds up to ten songs of incredibly subpar material from a normally respectable label. ~ Kurt Morris