God Is An Astronaut is an Irish Post Rock band consisting of three members. They write instrumentals heavily reminiscent of the likes of Copland, Casiopea, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. As such, the music takes on an ethereal quality unlike any sort of music that I've ever listened to.
Sure, I love Explosions In the Sky, Mogwai, and Godspeed, but this music is so calming and meditative that it is some of the best collection of sound I've heard in a long time. Some people bank on the Sigur Ros for their warming tones, but GIAA succeeds at this task far better than Sigur Ros could ever hope to.
Anyways, on to the album itself. The album actually begins with sort of a weak track "Fragile" which is 4 and a half minutes of not much really exciting or exceptional happening. But, the album picks up very quickly with the title track, and doesn't stop elevating itself until near the end of the album, where it should and does decline properly. The song that comes after the title track, "Forever Lost", is simply the best song on here no doubt, and is powerful and soothing all at once. It nestles you into a warm and comfortable place, then pummels you with chilling synthesizers that truly get the mind thinkin'.
Some would say the "Rock" part of their Post-Rock label is missing, but with tracks like "Suicide By Star" and "Fire Flies and Empty Skies", you can definitely hear the thumping bass lines, pounding drums, and distorted driving guitars. There is even a double bass and guitar tremolo section in the end of "Suicide By Star", which is quickly snuffed out by the somber piano of "Remembrance Day" and the sounds of snuffed synths swimming through your system. The transitions from heavier pieces that aren't really distortion heavy, but "wall-of-sound" heavy, to the somber pieces is astounding. It's truly something to respect and enjoy, something that I've yet to fully master in my own songwriting.
So, with all this high praise, there must be cons, no? Well, to be honest there are. I listen to music almost exclusively on a pair of very thick and bass-heavy Koch headphones, which I obviously turn down on the equalizers so I can actually enjoy music without the bass all up in my face, but the point is that GIAA's music doesn't sound very great in a bass-reduced environment, but rather works better on open speakers, and would undoubtedly sound fantastic on vinyl. That is some fault of my own, because I live in an area where any type of music played loudly gets reproted, and I'm not a huge fan of that, but I still think that it is disappointing when a band's music doesn't work too well on a headphone set.
That's not to say the production values are low, however. In fact, I'm surprised by how high the quality is on this album. The open and sizzling hi-hat meshes perfectly with the twang of the electric guitar, and the fuzz of the synthesizers. The bass cuts through purely by its clean and bright tone that is wildly different than the rest of the instrumental tone. The guitars are hidden, but protrude when necessary, and the synths are at the forefront, bearing full melodic backdrop.
There are some issues with speed on this album, however. Sure, I love music that takes a driving pace and litters it with slower instrumentals with a forward thinking drummer, but this band does for 10 tracks, and after awhile it starts to lose its cool. Bits like the end of "Suicide By Star" are so welcome, that it gets to be disappointing when you realize that you've been waiting for a pick-up in pace for more than half of this fantastic album.
Like I said though, this album ash excellent production, performance, tone, and composition, and those mark the greatest parts of songwriting. The sad thing about the whole album is that since it pretty much draws you in from the start, refusing to let go, it doesn't vary the overall tempo that often, but when it does, it is truly a joyous experience.
In the end, this is one of the best Indie/Post-Rock albums that has come out in the past decade, and is one of the best musical feats accomplished by man; power through emotion. Something like that hasn't been done since the likes of Fugazi, Rites of Spring, The Promise Ring, and At the Drive-In.
Final Score: 4.5/5
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