Review: God is An Astronaut – Origins (2013)

By Ryan G

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My encounters with cosmic, space influenced post-rock have been kind of from my hometown outward. It was a live performance by Columbus mainstays Brujas Del Sol in the intimate Rumba Cafe venue in relative darkness, backed by hypnotic lasers that got me intrigued in the space rock genre. As a friend once said in a review, Brujas Del Sol is like a trip without the drugs. But this review isn’t about Brujas Del Sol. It’s about God is An Astronaut.

God is An Astronaut is both literally and figuratively much farther from home than Brujas Del Sol. While the former’s moniker evokes sci-fi ponderings of the Almighty meandering through the cosmos, the latter translates to “Sun Witches” in English, evoking a closer to home idea that tends to tread in familiar territory. That is, while one band has their set “tricks” they’re good at, the other explores a bit more. Neither characteristic is bad, but I’ll admit that I had a ton of fun exploring Origins.

Origins suggests a story. It is going to be up to you to create all the imagery and plot details in your head, but some major movements found in an epic emerge in this record, from the beckoning riffs of “The Last March” to the dark, foreshadowing “Strange Steps” to the climactic, battle scene ready “Red Moon Lagoon” the whole thing is more than a wannabe movie score but less than an obvious concept record.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_gl-WNxS4Q&h=297&w=450]

Instrumental records are always difficult for me to review, especially when there are so many different possibilities for emotions conveyed in songs such as these. The versatility is a big plus though – I can choose to zone out in the dark to these songs, or rock out to the random emergence of one of these songs when my iPod is on shuffle in my car. There are vocals in rare instances, but they are neither abrasive nor intrusive. The vocals are an instrument blending into the soundscape rather than a linguistic tool. The structures themselves are quite muscular, with more abrasive drumming and soaring guitars.

I may be running a big risk of describing the sound of previous God is An Astronaut records but this newbie has no shame. If you’re a fan of post rock and you feel like you’ve read this before – good! You’ll know what to expect. For you as well as my fellow newbies, rest assured that Origins is one of the more adventurous records you’ll have the pleasure of experiencing this year. ‘Tis a fun adventure though, and not a terribly tumultuous one.

Score: 4.5/5

God is An Astronaut: Facebook | iTunes

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