Review
Amora Savant
The Immaculate Misconception

Volatile Productions (2005) Kevin Fitzpatrick

Amora Savant – The Immaculate Misconception cover artwork
Amora Savant – The Immaculate Misconception — Volatile Productions, 2005

Sometimes, perspective is a good thing. There's not always time to gain significant perspective, but when you do have the time, it makes an informed decision well, all that more informed. When I first played Amora Savant's The Immaculate Misconception, I didn't like it. So I played it a second time to, you know, gain some of that perspective thingy we were talking about and guess what? I liked it even less.

This didn't bode well. Believe it or not, I don't like to write bad reviews. It's easy to say something sucks. The "critic" world is full of people trying to out-pith each other and be the next Dorothy Parker or David Cross. It's always easier to say something's shit, rather than explain why it's good. But just because I don't like to write bad reviews doesn't mean I won't. I mean, I gotta earn those fat-ass Scene Point Blank checks. Coke, whores and patio furniture don't come for free, after all.

This brings us to the review in question. When I sat down to write this, I figured "Sure, I know what I'm going to say, but what better album to have on in the background than the album I'm writing about?" And wouldn't you know it - after getting ready with delicious bon mots about why the album is no fucking good, a funny thing happened - I started to like the goddamn thing. Not enough to give a glowing review, mind you (I save those for Sony artists. Thanks for the payola!), but enough of a change in heart that I knew I had some thinking to do. So with my whole world in upheaval, I stared blankly at the keyboard (a time-honored tradition) and re-formulated the whole process from soup-to-nuts and all the lentils in between.

The Immaculate Misconception, while certainly not the album of the year has just enough of the good stuff, the growls and grinding, the Misery Signals and the Botch-isms to (at least) placate the average listener. Clocking in at just under 24 minutes, this six track EP (including a brief intro) is a brief taste of possibilities on the horizon for these young whippersnappers from Wisconsin.

Amora Savant – The Immaculate Misconception cover artwork
Amora Savant – The Immaculate Misconception — Volatile Productions, 2005

Recently-posted album reviews

Painkiller

The Great God Pan
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller, the trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris shows no signs of slowing down. The Great God Pan is their third full-length, since their reunion in 2024, and in many ways it is an unexpected offering. In keeping with their interests in the metaphysical realm, Painkiller find inspiration from the famed Arthur Machen horror novella. Here, the … Read more

Painkiller

The Equinox
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller sees three absolute masters of extreme music join forces. John Zorn of Naked City and a billion other projects, Mick Harris who transcended from Napalm Death drummer to illbient guru with Scorn, and producer extraordinaire Bill Laswell. Their first two records, Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets are strange meditations traversing between free-jazz, grindcore and dub. Still hungry … Read more

Dauber

Falling Down
Dromedary Records, Recess (2025)

The lazy approach would be to call Dauber "ex-Screaming Females," but that barely scratches the surface. If I had to pick one band to namedrop a comparison to, it would be labelmates Night Court. They play a familiar style but with a lot of quirks that set it apart from the genre standard-bearers. It's driving and energetic -- more importantly, … Read more