Astral - Forever After CD review
July 24th 2010 17:03
Inside the pretty CD cover - photography by Natty D. - you will find the new 10-song collection from Astral raising a question from me - narcissus? dahlia? (& orchids from an old album) - is there a florist or gardener in Astral, or...? Delving into the music itself…
narcissus - a reminder of the last EP released earlier this year, this tune combines the bounce-beat combined with slow-boom that Astral use in much of their music.
until the day - 2 seconds less music in this version than the EP, the song remains one of those that seemingly cannot be played often enough to grow tired of hearing it.
all is said and done - this fresh track opens with deep percussion and a floating swirl, picking up pace before Dave enters with the lyrics. It is another of those beautiful whirling tunes you can sway off into so you need to concentrate if you want to follow the lyrics rather than drift off into the music.
fall away - more guitary with Astral’s spider-web of 80’s-style vox swirls to tangle you up tight as you sway-dance dreamily along. My personal favorite track from this album.
dahlia’s falling - percussive intro leading into that typical ‘bASsTRAL’ sound that sweeps me swayfully along until I recall to focus on the lyrics instead of floating away into the sound. But it is too late; I have to play it yet again to try to catch them…
walk and talk - 2 seconds longer than the EP version yet the shortest track of the album, it is a track I cannot stop bopping along to - even at the risk of busting yet another typing chair!
not too late - the longest track from this release opens in slow and deep Astral fashion making you wonder if it will turn into a boppy dance track or a slow swirly number. It stops completely between changes, becoming a bit of both as it progresses.
eye to eye - from an electro intro, this song climbs into a fountain of electro and ‘bASsTRAL’ sounds cascading down stereophonically about the listener.
a million miles from nowhere - twangs into sweeping swirls with a couple of interesting drum bursts and some lost-in-drift-words that are buried just shallow enough that you can find them if you want to stop floating along and step in to fetch them out.
forever after - back in bass-bop style, Astral finish their latest album with the title track - which almost became my fav track - but not quite! Settling for a placement as my personal number 2, the last song leaves you with an urge to dance in a similar manner to how I would imagine a cross between a head-banging giraffe and a mid-air somersaulting trapeze artiste would be - but add a bit of body sway into that!
narcissus - a reminder of the last EP released earlier this year, this tune combines the bounce-beat combined with slow-boom that Astral use in much of their music.
until the day - 2 seconds less music in this version than the EP, the song remains one of those that seemingly cannot be played often enough to grow tired of hearing it.
all is said and done - this fresh track opens with deep percussion and a floating swirl, picking up pace before Dave enters with the lyrics. It is another of those beautiful whirling tunes you can sway off into so you need to concentrate if you want to follow the lyrics rather than drift off into the music.
fall away - more guitary with Astral’s spider-web of 80’s-style vox swirls to tangle you up tight as you sway-dance dreamily along. My personal favorite track from this album.
dahlia’s falling - percussive intro leading into that typical ‘bASsTRAL’ sound that sweeps me swayfully along until I recall to focus on the lyrics instead of floating away into the sound. But it is too late; I have to play it yet again to try to catch them…
walk and talk - 2 seconds longer than the EP version yet the shortest track of the album, it is a track I cannot stop bopping along to - even at the risk of busting yet another typing chair!
not too late - the longest track from this release opens in slow and deep Astral fashion making you wonder if it will turn into a boppy dance track or a slow swirly number. It stops completely between changes, becoming a bit of both as it progresses.
eye to eye - from an electro intro, this song climbs into a fountain of electro and ‘bASsTRAL’ sounds cascading down stereophonically about the listener.
a million miles from nowhere - twangs into sweeping swirls with a couple of interesting drum bursts and some lost-in-drift-words that are buried just shallow enough that you can find them if you want to stop floating along and step in to fetch them out.
forever after - back in bass-bop style, Astral finish their latest album with the title track - which almost became my fav track - but not quite! Settling for a placement as my personal number 2, the last song leaves you with an urge to dance in a similar manner to how I would imagine a cross between a head-banging giraffe and a mid-air somersaulting trapeze artiste would be - but add a bit of body sway into that!
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