Hailing from Ithica, New York, the American alternative rock group X Ambassadors have been on the music scene since 2009, but recently released their first full-length album entitled “VHS’. Back in 2009 they released two EP’s while touring with the band LIGHTS. At that time, the band created a Kickstarter account to fund the creation of music videos and the production of music in the studio. Imagine Dragons and Panic! At the Disco were the first two mainstream bands to take notice of them, although the band was also featured on an Eminem single in 2013. Their single “Renegades” made it to #37 on the US Billboard Charts at its peak, and later on produced and released the song “Fear” featuring Imagine Dragons. In July of this year, Billboard rated the VHS album three out of five stars, but personally I believe that it deserves at least four and a half, leaving the band room for improvement as their career continues to develop as they push into more mainstream popularity and media exposure. X Ambassadors’ music has been popularly featured in video games such as “Need For Speed: Most Wanted” and “Need For Speed: Rivals”. They have also been featured in commercials for Season Two of the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black”, Season 4 of MTV’s “Teen Wolf”, and in previews for the movie Pitch Perfect 2. Their music has also been featured in television and radio commercials for Applebee’s and Jeep, in the latter of which their single “Renegades” is featured in the advertisement for the Jeep Renegade. The band manages to operate within a variety of music genres to establish their own unique style of performance, integrating elements of everything from alternative/indie rock to R&B. Their song has been compared in multiple reviews to that of Imagine Dragons in publications ranging from private blogs to the New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine. The X Ambassadors are now also under Alex Da Kid, the same producer as Imagine Dragons.
When listening to the tracks of their newest album VHS it becomes evident that their performances are drawn from many different inspirations and gives the listener something to relate to within their lyrics, whether beautifully simple or esoterically complex. Lead singer Sam Harris has stated that he has been musically influenced by the bands Nine Inch Nails and Black Sabbath. The X Ambassadors have managed to maintain their diversity within the music industry in instrumentation and vocal creativity and delivery. They continue to set themselves apart through their effortless and soulful journey for the listener and promises a passionate combination of writing, variety and evocative, essentially cinematic emotion.
