" The pop hit of the summer!"
-TORONTO STAR

"This is an incredibly charming and beguiling debut. With a warm, earnest voice, Waito has a light touch at the best of times ... Take “Bumble Bee,” where the smooth delivery and slyly dark lyrics are perfectly tempered with the urgent, supremely catchy music. When Waito sings, “Sweet, sweet lady you see/the part of me that’s evergreen,” you know it’s not just directed at his crush but at all of us. Yes, we see, and hear, the part of you that’s evergreen and it’s just lovely. Not to be too corny but this is a gem of an album."
-EXCLAIM!

"Adam Waito leads his Amethysts with swirl, strum and synths, and their music is a roadtrip from Montreal back to Thunder Bay, Ont. They listen to AM and FM both, beat rhythms on their laps and shiver in their hand-me-down sweaters. Stupid Ocean recalls Yo La Tengo, sure, and a twentysomething nostalgia, but nothing so much as the proud parade of telephone poles along the side of Highway 17. The album’s not out till this summer and already I’ve fallen in love."
-NATIONAL POST

"Whereas prolific types like Sufjan Stevens seem to have a lock on re-envisioning America’s places and people through drawn-out narratives and musical tapestries, the closest we might get to a Canadian equivalent looks an awful lot like the latest project from Adam Waito, better known for his work in Miracle Fortress and Telefauna.
Adept at pairing kitchen-sink story­telling with music that totally suits the scenarios, Waito leads us back to his hometown of Thunder Bay (home to one of Canada’s few amethyst mines) with a string of soft and hazy folk rock songs. They meander quietly through ethereal psychedelic moments and a Neil Youngish understanding of the lyrical details that fill a songs with endearing personality.
At 13 songs, Amulet could go on a while longer and still remain a beautiful piece of contemporary Canadiana. '****' "
-NOW WEEKLY (TORONTO)

"Adam Waito might be best known to people as the keyboardist in Miracle Fortress. But those who enjoy that project's swirling pop classicism would be well advised to explore this particular branch of the family tree as they both share a debt to the sounds of the '60s and a home studio aesthetic, though the Amethysts keep things more analog and organic, rooted in a folk tradition and incorporating more acoustic instrumentation. Intended as an aural love letter to Waito's hometown of Thunder Bay, Amulet tempers a musical wanderlust with creative focus for a debut that's playful, elegant and nostalgic and not at all averse to a well-placed burst of fuzz guitar."
-CHROMEWAVES

"The density of really great songs on this record is sending listeners in an excited pitter-patter to their local record shops. Waito's hushed voice, tempered guitar parts and soft wash of synth make this debut a treat for anybody with a hot heart. I swear a stray cat that haunts the downstairs fire escape comes up for visits only when I play this record."
-NIGHTLIFE (MONTREAL)

"The Poppy Family gets reinvented for the Pitchfork crowd, with Adam & the Amethysts’ soft-focus folk glowing with candy-swirled organs and vocals warmer than Muskoka sunsets."
-GEORGIA STRAIGHT (VANCOUVER)

"The first man of the moniker is Adam Waito of established Montreal-based odd-pop bands Miracle Fortress and Telefauna, and the record has the self-assurance and quality of experience behind it. Adam & the Amethysts’ sound departs from those of Waito’s other projects, though—while it sustains the flights of fancy demonstrated in Telefauna and the sun-and-surf pop vibe of Miracle Fortress, it’s earthier than either, aglow in fuzzy nostalgia, melody and playful layered noodling. You can almost smell summer: warm wet concrete, freshly mowed grass and the ripeness of the season spill from the gentle shuffling rhythms (and inevitable handclaps), brassy flourishes, soulful organ and pedal-heavy guitar that swaddle Waito’s vocals, drenched in winsome recollection and sometimes melancholic observances. The whole effect is rather like someone bashfully piecing together the British Invasion through dimly remembered K-Tel compilation TV ads into a slightly surreal concept album—and it works."
-VUE WEEKLY (EDMONTON)

"Montreal's newest shimmering gem."
-SAID THE GRAMOPHONE

"The music starts with a '60s-psych-folk shimmer to it with "Stupid Ocean," putting this in line with the UK's The Coral or the late and lamented band, Royal City. Good stuff!"
-THE COAST (HALIFAX)

" As Adam and the Amethysts, Waito dons an acoustic guitar, turns up the reverb settings on his home recording equipment and unleashes 13 lucky songs that lie somewhere between '60s folk pop and '80s new wave.
Tiny synths fill in background textures, but, much like Human Highway, it's the acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies that define the sound. Waito proves to be a deft songsmith, especially when he's longing for his hometown of Thunder Bay on the bookend tracks, Stupid Ocean and The Ocean To Me; Kakabeka Falls features prominently in the album's artwork, and much of the material here seems perfectly suited for a Lake Superior road trip."
-GUELPH MERCURY