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Aspera Ad Astra
- Avg user rating:
Out of 5 votes - Similar Artists: Spiritualized, Mercury Rev, Yo La Tengo, Primal Scream, Bardo Pond
Out of 5 votes
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- Genre: Rock & Pop » Psychedelic Pop
Editor's review
If the rare, singing upland plover could airlift keyboards and amps into its tiny nest, it could probably get a gig opening for Aspera Ad Astra. These veterans of the 'Psychedelphia' shoegazer scene in Philly create a multilayered web of sound with delicate guitar patterns and warbled vocals reminiscent of early Mercury Rev. Aspera ad Astra soar to the heavens on golden wings of sound.
Biography
Aspera Ad Astra, whose name, loosely translated, means "through difficulty to the stars," first formed in Philadelphia in 1996. They released a split seven- inch with Haelah as part of the celebrated Postmarked Stamps series on Tree Records, as well as a full-length album, Peace, on AudioInformationPhenomenon.
This song is from their first release on Tiger Style Records, a split record with fellow Philly rockers the Lilys. Both bands share an appreciation for the sounds of the sixties, with Aspera Ad Astra leaning more towards the psychedelic end of the musical spectrum. A warbling guitar loop repeats under a shifting, dreamy wash of bass and drums, providing the perfect conceptual background to the keyboards and vocals. This is swirling, whirling pop that's sure to please fans of psych rock and Brit pop alike.
For their most recent full-length Oh Fantastica, Aspera sought out producers King Honey (who'd worked with cult rapper MF Doom) and J. SProcess; the results were far more electronic than any of the band's previous work, indebted to electro and futuristic hip-hop as well as spacey psychedelia.
