Ambulance LTD’s Marcus Congleton has spent most of 2006 holed up in a forgotten corner of midtown New York, sharing a sparse rehearsal space with a pair of indie-rock bands and a mysterious sleeping bag no one seems to claim.

Depending on where you blog, Congleton is either an underground hero or just another soft-spoken musician occupying a dorm-style rehearsal space. But, either way, on this day in late May, the singer stands alone, staring at a billboard for Jennifer Aniston’s The Breakup, while pondering how to rebuild his band from scratch— starting with his latest set of rudimentary demos. 

After releasing a strong debut disc in 2004, selling out choice venues such as New York’s Bowery Ballroom and playing major festivals like Lollapalooza, Ambulance LTD essentially called it quits in early January, leaving Congleton with a buzz name and a stack of half-baked song ideas. Recruiting a handful of local musicians, Congleton began laying down demos and relying on friends like Luna’s Sean Eden to fill out his road band, searching for the missing link between My Bloody Valentine and Damian Marley. While figuring out how to bridge this gap on a shoestring budget, Congleton invited Relix into his rehearsal space, offering a hint of what Ambulance’s forthcoming studio sessions should sound like.

SORTING THINGS OUT

After we finished touring behind our first record, it didn’t really make sense to play together anymore. There were problems. Not serious incidents or anything, but we just kinda drifted apart. We weren’t all friends who grew up together and started a band. It was kinda like a working thing. Two of the guys weren’t even in the band until just before we recorded. I actually joined the band, I didn’t start it. But then, gradually, I started writing more and more songs and it became like my thing. I sort of earned it. When it came time to record again, we just weren’t really communicating well enough or friendly enough to try again. We did a New Year’s Eve show at Mercury Lounge and that was it. I was the only one signed to the label when they gave the option to a few other guys. I was the only one who actually took the plunge, so to speak.

NOT BRIAN JONESTOWN

I like the idea of having a band and not having it be just my traveling show—I don’t want to be like the New York Brian Jonestown Massacre. Ultimately, it would be great to be like Willie Nelson and have whomever you’re down with on the road with you, just playing whatever. But as long as we’re on the Dodge econoline van club tour, I think four people is good. It makes the most sense for hotel rooms ‘cause it’s two to a room. It’s more space onstage and more space in the actual music. In every possible way it’s easier.


BLUEPRINTS

I have six songs that should make the album and then I’ve got a small pile of rejects that I could use for B-sides or something. I’ve got something that sounds vaguely like “Ophelia” and I’ve also got a demo that sounds like “Primitive”’s less charismatic little cousin. We also started playing this song called “Earthbound” a long time ago, which should make the album. It’s just simple, bluesy, Doorssounding. I recorded a demo of these simple acoustic songs, which I don’t think I will use, except maybe “Somalia.” Right now, I’m mostly finishing lyrics and making demos that I’m happy with.

SHOE GAZING

It was kind of a drag when the press described us as “shoe-gazing dream pop.” That was something we wanted to reference, but not necessarily be. I don’t want to record anything with a shoe-gazing aspect to it. I don’t know if huge, swirling, crashing guitars are really what are going to happen on the next album. I think those songs can be played in a way so they sound more full and more crunchy. I prefer a sparser, less guitar-heavy sound: less reverb, less delay and more space in the mix. Like the Plastic Ono Band— drums, bass, rhythm guitar and vocals. I like having the vocals more upfront, too.

STOP WHINING

I’m trying to figure out how to make rock music that doesn’t sound so whiny and guitar-heavy. Truth be told, I probably listen to more rap than rock. I think it’s somehow a little more interesting, a little more dynamic. It changes more quickly and there’s a wider palette of sounds going on. It’d be rad to use some samples on some tracks. But I’d rather imply those elements, without doing them, because that’s slippery turf and I’m still interested in making pop music. For instance, after we recorded “Ladyfingers,” [former guitarist] Benjy [Lysaght] edited it on his computer, programmed the beat and mixed it up.

BACK TO BASICS

I’d like to get to the point where we’d have keyboards, saxophones and more programmed beats, but I don’t see it being too much of a problem if we don’t have it right away. I think if something isn’t simple or strong enough to just be played with bass, drums and two guitars, then it’s not worth doing live. I wouldn’t get too elaborate before I got rich.

BAND SEEKING PRODUCER AND PAL

I definitely want someone to confide in, who can give me some perspective and who I trust. I’m at a crossroads with what I want to do and where I want to go. I don’t want a micro-manager or anything. Last time, I was kind of afraid to speak up when I knew things weren’t quite right, when I knew a song was a little too fast or a little too distorted. But I was like, well, leave it to the professional. You don’t want to be a diva and tell them, “No, this is my shit,” but then maybe you should if it’s really a problem. That’s kind of what happened to us last time.

UNDER THE GUN

Luckily, everyone has been really patient with me, at least to my face, and I think they understand that the band was put together for the tour and for making that album and that it was gonna be sort of up in the air and renegotiated after that. It wasn’t like this is the band, here we go, we’re in it to win it. Everyone has been understanding for that reason. They saw us dissolve and go our separate ways, so people have been patient with me about getting my act together. I’m just hoping that I don’t let them down.