Album Review: Astronoid by Astronoid

Boston quartet Astronoid release their new, self-titled album, on 1^st February via Blood Music. The album is a cacophony of driving rhythms, subtle time signatures and soaring vocal harmonies combine to create an auditory cloud to lift you into the ether. There’s always something new to discover hidden within the dense layers of thrashy guitar riffs and euphoric vocals.

The music reflects the ebb-and-flow of two years marked by intense life changes. “The main themes of the record are overcoming self-doubt and creating art in general,” explains Boland. “We were away from home for so long that we’d be lying if we said the road had nothing to do with the material. A lot happened. Dan got married. I got engaged. There were ups downs. Our lives are ultimately reflected in the music.”

We loved their 2016 debut album Air and Astonoid doesn’t disappoint. Rather than continuing where Air left off, this album has the feel of a band doing what they want – free of expectations and confines. There’s a sense of freedom, the sonic assault of thrashy guitars, pummelling drums play the perfect counterpoint to the moments of dreamy shoegaze and triumphant harmonies.

Prepare yourself for an immediate and instantaneous album. It ticks all the right boxes early on and excels throughout its 47 minutes whether it be the almost pop thrash of ‘I Dream In Lines’ or the progressive and introspective ‘Lost’ you’ll find something new and different in every track and on every listen.

Both ‘Fault’ and ‘Breathe’ are amoungst the best tracks on the album, with the latter having some standout guitar work, but somehow they both manage to get blown away by the ridiculously good ‘Water’. It is a track that takes in everything Astronoid have done before, adding multiple layers and displaying just how much the band have grown and how unafraid they are to push the boundaries. It one of those tracks that doesn’t fall comfortably into any genre – there’s touches of thrash and post-metal, alt rock, prog rog and post-rock. The journey it takes you on is mind-blowing.

‘I Wish I Was There While the Sun Set’ revels in its breakneck speed and prowess before album closer ‘Ideal World’ signs things off with aplomb. Astronoid have realised all their potential here. Wonderful stuff.

AD Rating 9/10