When I last reviewed the Tufts Amalgamates, I spent most of my time praising Alex Green and Alexander Koutzoukis and their terrific production work on Watch The Stairs. And with Who Crashed The Car?, it would certainly be reasonable to simply cut-and-paste my thoughts from last time, as the work is no less sensational. But you can also go back and read that review here, if you'd like.

What's perhaps even more worthy of highlighting this time around are two particular areas, one of which is not so uncommon, but the other of which is something of a rarity in collegiate a cappella and a real breath of fresh air for this reviewer.

The less out-of-the-ordinary kudos need to be heaped upon the Upper Voices who solo on this album, and who are nearly all fantastic. To be clear, the Lower Voices — of which there are only two by my count with true solos, plus one other who features in a duet — are by no means lackluster. But they pale in comparison to the energy, power, and presence of most of the Upper Voices featured.

Mari Shoop's take on Ariana Grande's Greedy is every bit the equal of the original (with even better consonants!) and Shoop later shows a lovely softer side in the duet with Katie Moynihan on Don't Make It Harder On Me. Moynihan returns in a duet with Noah Bedrosian on All I Need and while this version is a pretty slavish version of the original — a technically brilliant slavish version of a complex and difficult song, mind you — their work is also excellent. Anne Rubinson is another hero of this album, contributing the nifty arrangement of the aforementioned Greedy, as well as shared arranging credit on Lost One, and showing off in front of the mic on Break My Heart with a solo that I find even more present and engaging than the blasé/laid back feel of Dua Lipa's original. And speaking of shared arranging credit on Lost One, let us not forget GK Kay, who provides fantastic solos on that selection, as well as Shame, Shame, Shame.

As good as those solos are, what truly excited me about this album were three tracks where I had advanced concerns about what the group and/or Plaid might choose to do with them, given the specific timbres of the original — and those concerns proved to be almost entirely unfounded. Sure, I may personally still have a quibble here or there with a couple of the choices made, but to quote my beloved Sondheim, "The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not."

Working backwards from the end of the album, Jazmine Sullivan's original of Lost One has a pretty unflinching background for the entirety of the song that might be described as watery, scratchy, next-room, and steady, colored only by Sullivan's solo and the voices that join her periodically throughout. The 'Mates, with what feels like some "pitchbend-esque" help from Plaid, preserve that tender opening feel and resist the temptation to smooth over the song's quieter, more distant edges. Personally, I wish they had resisted even a little more, as the song builds to a much bigger sound by the end that I'm not in love with. But it's a choice, and the journey is an earned one that starts from point A and moves to point B — and that's rarer than it should be in collegiate a cappella.

Shame, Shame, Shame is another such instance — this time, the group does in fact slightly smooth over some of the drier, rawer edges of the original's old school rock combo feel in the front half of the song — the drums are a bit too crisp and forward for my tastes — but whatever is blurred in translation remains sufficiently faithful, while adding some wonderful re-harm flourishes to the second verse.

The real crowning achievement in this area of timbral sensitivity, however, is favorite crime. The original by Olivia Rodrigo features a closely mic'd solo and acoustic guitar. This is not a combination that collegiate a cappella tends to handle well — or at least not without spackling over much of the individuality and character of the original with expansive pad chords and/or other unnecessary complications. It's to the group credit, then — and arrangers Leah Cohen and Charlie Neuhaus, in particular — that they find just the right balance of fidelity to the source material while simultaneously fashioning something new and engaging using the new "instrumentation".

I could go on and on about other bits and pieces of this album that I very much enjoy. But if you haven't figured it out yet, here's the bottom line: this album is one of the best I've heard at the collegiate level in quite a while (between the 'Mates and the 'Bubs, the concentration of aca-talent and quality at Tufts is almost unfair). Buy it and enjoy!

The offerings on Who Crashed The Car? are varied and showcase an eclectic assortment of tracks that display the Amalgamates' depth in talent. However, it is the album's more soulful and vulnerable selections that have my attention in a stranglehold. While not all tracks on the album may be up to par with their counterparts, the Amalgamates often make smart musical choices that go far in covering up any blemishes.

First and foremost the Amalgamates are too good at R&B tracks! There are three tracks on Who Crashed The Car? that I would definitively classify as R&B music and each one is elite.

Don't Make It Harder On Me is such an audibly seductive track. The arrangement is overflowing with textured vocals while remaining playful. The production gives off an old-school R&B feel, but it is the ladies who steal the show! The lead delivers power and conviction while singing in her lower register, making for a match made in heaven with the added higher harmonies throughout the track. The runs, the subtlety in the performance, and the sultriness make the experience feel like a cool '90s day.

All I Need is digestible vocal jazz with an R&B flair that settles softly on the listener's ear. There is an elevated level of maturity in the group's singing with subtle bell-tones and controlled dynamics, helping the entire experience flow as the Amalgamates stay in the pocket. What I love most is the conversation-esque delivery the two leads share, inviting listeners in on a private conversation that feels almost fleeting.

Lost One is sheer perfection and the emotional juggernaut of the album. The minimalist start, the confidence in the backing singing as they grow with the solo, and the eventual heartbreak of the lead by the song's end are just a few noteworthy moments. Lost One has some of the cleanest harmonies I have heard on an a cappella track. Add this to the lead's star-studded delivery which can move mountains, and you have a truly divine musical moment.

Who Crashed The Car? is full of other splendid moments including a beautiful arrangement of favorite crime that's light, airy, and builds a celestial aura that's so damn pleasing to the ear. Break My Heart embodies youthful dance energy and has all the makings of a great radio hit with arguably the album's best production work.

When you move past the stars, the rest of the album is mostly, solid. The other tracks do not deliver the excitement factor as effortlessly as the standouts. Tracks like Jolene and Over & Out sound cool but tend to have one gear with energy. Others such as Greedy and The Middle hit the right notes but fall by the wayside creatively. Fortunately, the Amalgamates' other big moments leave such an impression that you hardly linger too long on the album's blemishes.

Who Crashed The Car? is a compelling and charismatic vocal project that leaves you with plenty of feels. You won't regret listening.

The Amalgamates are staking their claim as a force with which to be reckoned in a cappella with their latest album, Who Crashed The Car?. Top-notch musicality, incredible soloists, and smart arranging choices make this is a must-listen album.

The Amalgamates excel in their attention to minute musical details and phrasing. A few outstanding moments that catch my ear with every listen: the crystal clear bell tones of All I Need, the timbral layers of Don't Make It Harder On Me, and the rhythmic energy on favorite crime even without vp or crisp consonants in the vocables. Plaid Productions and Dave Sperandio similarly attend to and carefully craft the nuanced sound worlds of each track. For example, The Middle sits right in the sweet spot of mid-2000s pop punk and how a cappella groups covering the genre at the time sounded. The following track, contemporary dance-pop song Break My Heart, is finished with appropriate effects that immediately distinguish it in genre and mood from its predecessor on the album.

One of the hardest things to do in a cappella is to know your group members well enough to pair soloists with songs and arrangements on which they will sound good. The Amalgamates do this well and strike gold on a number of the songs, especially for their treble soloists. Annie Rubinson's belt and charisma on Break My Heart are electric. Mari Shoop deftly navigates the many facets of their vocal registers and timbres on Greedy, a deceptively difficult Ariana Grande song. Katie Moynihan and Shoop's voices blend beautifully on Don't Make It Harder On Me. But Gk Kay takes the cake on Lost One: their emotional solo anchors the complex arrangement's deeply-satisfying arc, which they co-arranged with Rubinson.

The other songs are very good, but they don't have that extra something that takes them to the next level. More creative arranging choices would help distinguish Jolene and Somebody To Love from every other cover of these a cappella mainstays. Over & Out and Shame, Shame, Shame could both use a bit more dynamic contrast and arc to their arrangements to get them unstuck from having one energy level. While these four tracks may not be standouts, they have few to no musical faults and the group sounds great nonetheless.

Who Crashed The Car? ranks as one of the most consistently solid albums I've heard in a quite a while. Run, don't walk, to your nearest streaming service to give it a listen, or four.