Singles

Amp Fiddler - Ridin/Faith Mixes

Emily Tartanella 12/02/2007

Rating: 4/5

Amp Fiddler might have some trouble with this one. Overcoming a legacy that starts with the funky debut 'Waltz of a Ghetto Fly' wouldn't be easy for anyone, but this double A-side is certainly a good way to start. Deliciously dancey, with a funk-meets-reggae beat guaranteed to satisfy anyone sick of Matisyahu jokes, “Ridin/Faith” is a keeper.

Opener “Ridin'” is admittedly somewhat disposable, but in the most enjoyable way. Bouncy and light, with lyrics that float past like a summer breeze, it's an instant floor-filler and the perfect antidote to those Christ-winter's-back-blues. Carl Craig's edit spices things up a bit, and with a faster pace this track becomes a definite keeper, complete with an edgy side missing from the original version.

Release date: 12/02/07

“Faith,” by contrast, is a guitar-driven funk piece that's content to sit back and let the listener enjoy. More melodic than “Ridin,” and all the better for it, “Faith” is spiritual without being religious, and in this crazy atheist paradise of ours it's even stronger for that. Ostensibly the story of relationship woes, it has the potential to be so much more, and it meets them. Amp Fiddler may be living down an old legacy, but the path to a lifetime of success starts here.