| Hailing from Crown Point, Indiana Asteria put a familiar spin on an old sound. But nowadays, who doesn't? Starting the album off with the uniquely titled 'Drink Life To The Less' gave me pause and made me roll my eyes. That is until I heard the track – which is fantastic and can stand on its own as a song. Beginning with guitar strumming from your favorite Just Surrender song, it swells into something much more listenable, and gives no real indication as to what the album contains musically. The guitar work featured on this track is excellent and really is a great way to get the ball rolling.
Once the real songs get going, Asteria sound like they belong in a club in Florida filled with old dirty bikers and Emo kids who hate and adore the band alike. The music is reminiscent of early The Early November/Hidden In Plain View rolled in the mud and distorted. Standout tracks include "A Lesson In Charades" which is great because the dropped tuning on the bass really stands out which encompasses the bands' balls to the wall style. "The Taste The Touch" is also another great track that makes me want to shout along in a live setting.
The dual vocals of are a nice throwback to Armor For Sleep and HIPV. The gruff and urgent mixed with some nice harmonies prevails throughout this album. The music is always pushing the listener in terms of urgency and musicianship while the vocals are always on the verge of becoming off key. But for some reason this band makes it work much like HWM has for countless albums.
"Slip Into Something More Comfortable" definitely shows signs of a band that is getting put together quickly, and the end result is sounding pretty good. I think if they came to my town, I would put in the effort to check out their live show. With the energy that is present on this album, I would expect even more from their live show and I hope I would not be disappointed. This band does have a lot of potential.
Asteria is what it is – pop-rock without shame – if you love that sort of thing then definitely go pick up this record.
~ Wayne
February 07 2007 |
