Search - God Is An Astronaut :: The End Of The Beginning

God Is An Astronaut is an Irish band that has existed for more than four years. The end of the beginning is their debut cd which features eleven tracks recorded during 2002 to 2004 as well as being enhanced with three videos. God is an Astronaut sounds like a band name that would belong to a three chord garage band from America, rather than a dreamy chill-out lo-fi threepiece from Dublin. It s not dancey enough to be called dance music, and yet while dabbling generously in electronica at times, it offers a much fuller sound than the brittle sparsity and atmospheric minimalism we ve come to expect from the genre. What we get in return is a much more melodic and immediate record. Title track, The End of the Beginning, weighs in with a swirling ethereal opening before it s direction is pinned down by throbbing beats and a melodic guitar line. The stunning Coda is built around a near post-rock guitar motif, while Remembrance follows a similar outline; although this time God is an Astronaut choose piano as the glue to paste their ambient layers together. Point Pleasure is possibly the highlight, changing direction to a fervent interlude midway through which completely alters the track. Route 666 is closer to the more digitised glitchy electronica that s fashionable at the moment, but it s still couched in heavy beats and a great rhythm, while closing track Lost Symphony clings to a subtle and brooding bass-line. At times it echoes The Human League, and once or twice it soaks up the heady dub rush of Massive Attack, and the solar landscapes on the new UNKLE album. Indeed, you get the feeling on some tracks like Point Pleasure and the intro of Fall from the Stars that very serious attention has been paid to the likes of Blue Lines and Protection when writing up their list of creative influences.