Search - The Asteroid #4 :: Introducing...

The Asteroid #4 -'Introducing.....' (Lounge Records)

Mike Reed | USA | 10/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'Introducing...' is the band's first release.Playing very old school psychedelia - sort of reminds me of vintage Pink Floyd when Syd Barrett fronted the band."The Admirals Address" is without a doubt the BEST cut,worth the admission price alone.Other great tracks are "Omizuka","Golden Girl Of Spain",the trippy "What A Sorry Way To Go","Egyptians&Druids",the extremely well-played instrumental "Visitation Rights" and "Kate And The King".Plenty of soaring synthesiser and echoing guitar here.Get out the strobe lights,lava lamps,love beads and your best smoke.Band hails from Philadelphia(where else?).Someone ought to inform these guys that it's no longer 1967.Hah,don't bother.The 21st century needs bands like Asteroid #4.They've got several other titles out,by now."

Under the radar, under the stars

J. Rossi | Downers Grove, IL | 02/20/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Asteroid #4 are not breaking any new ground on this album, but they successfully meld several different styles of music, and do it very well. Like mad scientists, they mix and match from genres past (late 60s/early 70s trippy acoustic folk, swinging British psychedelia) and present (electronica) and concoct something all their own.



"Onizuka" provides a haunting, atmospheric piano-based instrumental segue for the album's centerpiece song, "The Admirals Address," which recalls early, Syd-era Pink Floyd but isn't derivitive. "Golden Girl of Spain" does the same thing but in languid cosmic-acoustic way, and yet again The Asteroid #4 leave their own mark on it.



But this album is more than a mid-60s tribute. "What a Sorry Way to Go" gives Primal Scream a run for its money; "Egyptians and Druids," fitting its title, somehow sounds very organic and earthy (even though it sounds like a collaboration between late Spacemen 3 and early Killing Joke); "Visitation Rights" starts slow, crescendoes with shimmering guitars, pounding drums and atmospheric explosions then slows as it fades out. "Kate and the King" starts with a rocket burst, settles into a soundtrack for interstellar travel, then fires the rockets again as it makes a dizzying landing.



"My Stomach Since She's Left," mixes eastern woodwinds, plaintive guitar and colorful synth washes and "Honey Bee" is a nice taste of acidified George Harrison (acostic guitar) and Ravi Shankar (sitar) pop.



There's nothing new here, but with this debut The Asteroid #4 creates a perfect and enjoyable (and intoxicating) blend of music."

Nimble neo-psych: quite a promising debut

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 05/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"4 stars for extra effort that the band puts into this neo-psych masterwork. If you're reading this, you may have heard this all before, but it's a satisfying replay. This Philly group on its second CD drifted laterally into the garagey-Kinks- jangly-Britbeat- Byrdsy-chiming era and on its third into American later 60s inspired country-rock, but while all of these are solid, this debut's their standout. With so many eager prospectors returning to mine the ore leftover from the later 60s, how this one manages to unearth Syd Barrettisms (the standout track: Admiral's Address) without falling into mimicry is amazing for what appears to a young outfit. A couple of songs don't knock me out as much--for example, "What A Sorry Mess" sounds more like mid-tempo hazy Brian Jamestown Massacre; while not bad at all, this band can do better. It's hard to be inspired by the comparatively brief legacy from when Pink Floyd resisted bloat without a band falling into cliche or noodling, but the Asteroid #4 keep their footing.



Better yet, the rest of the album, if more diffused, hits the right targets with space rock, a great vocal sample from Warhol-era "Ciao! Manhattan," droney excursions, and sophisticated more somber tunes that stretch out and take their time burrowing in. Assured singer, clever song titles, but not too much intervention; the textures color the sounds here deftly enough, thanks. The record does get a bit samey if taken in one sitting, but I suppose it works best by accumulation. It sets a mood and continues it rather than veering wildly from genre to genre exercise. By far one of the best efforts from a "modern" psych-influenced band, and I only wish I had heard about it sooner.



If you like psychedelic music inspired by '66-69 British bands that goes a bit more beyond the superficial or the nostalgic than certain more prominent outfits, this album's one that you'll like from the first song the first time you cue it up."