If they don’t know any better, those who happen across songs from Astral’s “Forever After” might be scratching their heads trying to identify what old band is playing — Joy Division? The Cult? The Cure? My Bloody Valentine?
The San Francisco act recalls all of these groups and more as frontman Dave Han drives squalls of distorted, reverberating guitars and layers in his hazy, remote vocals. Only the rhythm section seems anchored in reality, tethering the hypnotic electricity to the disconnected voice.
Although the ambient mood convincingly approximates beloved bands from decades ago, it obviously doesn’t have the same impact warmed over for today.
Still, “Forever After” is alluring as Han and company weave their spells, ranging from the rough aggression of “Fall Away” to the relatively understated “Dahlia’s Falling” marked by percolating cadence, sedate vocals and apparitional-fill electricity in the background. Meanwhile, as a singer Han has the capacity to drone, kick into a New Wave shtick and ape Marilyn Manson.
Trouble is, there’s not enough such variety on “Forever After,” and many tracks meld together in monotonous indistinction. Plus there’s a fine line between narcotic surrealism and uncomfortable hallucination, and Astral casually weaves back and forth over that line.
Ultimately, the best listener experience would be to extract the dreamiest songs — such as the title track, “Dahlia’s Falling” and “Until the Day” — and leave the rest behind in the fog.
Rating: 3
© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
- |
Comments » 0
Be the first to post a comment!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.