Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome. In a way you don't really expect., April 19, 2004
Chances are, if you're looking into Bad Astronaut, you've heard about them because of Lagwagon or The Ataris. And chances are you enjoy listening to those bands, so this would be a no-brainer. Well you're right, Bad Astronaut is a definite step in the right direction... Though you might not be expecting what you hear.Bad Astronaut is a bit of a departure from the norm. They're not the raw, intense, mosh-inspiring group you might expect to find when combining members from bands like Lagwagon and The Ataris. Instead, Bad Astronaut focuses a little bit more on being almost poetic with their riffs and melodies, and a tad bit more melancholy with lyrics. It's not fast like traditional punk music, it's pretty mellow... But that only makes it better. I got the first Bad Astronaut CD when it first came out because I love Joey Cape's voice and lyrics. It turned out to be a great example of a few guys getting together, taking a risk and succeeding brilliantly. On both CDs the music is awesome, it's not intrusive and yet far from boring... perfect. What surprised me about this particular CD was the amount of acoustics. There aren't any songs that are purely acoustic, but quite often a song will either start off or fade out with acoustics, which really gives it a touch of style. The first CD didn't have that, but I'm glad this one does. All in all, this is an outstanding CD. Highly recommended. However, I would warn anyone that doesn't have a desire to expand their musical horizons. If you're just looking for music to pump you up before a show, or something to get you fired up for your next boarding session, this probably isn't where to look. But if you're ready to experiment a little bit and really get a taste of musical genius, this is definitely a great place to be.
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bad Astronaut - Houston We Have a Drinking Problem, April 13, 2003
Imagine the Foo Fighters combined with Radiohead and a moody version of Lagwagon - and you have yourself Bad Astronaut. Bad Astronaut, the newest "super-group" on the block features members of Lagwagon (Joey - vox/guitar), Sugarcult (Marko - bass), and the Ataris (Derek - drums), as well as a handful of cameos, most notably by John Popper of Blues Traveler. But what does Bad Astronaut sound like? Well, it is a little difficult to describe, but basically they are a rather dark and often moody rock band, with a very production heavy meshing of a number of instruments.Aside from the usual Guitar/Bass/Drums, Bad Astronaut is often overlain with piano, strings, sampling, keyboards, drum machines, harmonica, more guitars, and backing vocals - conjuring a lush sound crisp in quality, yet deep and from the heart. Joey Cape's nasal yet powerful voice is the only real similar trait shared between Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut. The music has a very definite indy sound, with a large variance in song themes. There isn't a strong sing-song vibe on this release, more of a feeling of "sit back and soak it all in." Acrophobe, the first release from Bad Astronaut was obviously an experimentation process for this band. Their first release jumped all around, not really ever finding a style that could define the album as a whole. Houston ... on the other hand, sounds almost as if it could be one single track, growing, mutating and developing throughout. The album kicks off with the darkly mellow "These Days", and this style follows through to the second track "Clear Cutting." The third track, "Single" is a bit more upbeat ... but leads well into the powerhouse "Break Your Frame." The album continues on at the same pace until we come across the rather unique, "Solar Sister." "Our Greatest Year" seems to be the intended closing track, but the disk is actually closed out by the sample heavy "The Passenger," which seems to be the most heavily Radiohead influenced track on this release. I have no complaints about this disk. It is very listenable, and laid-back, but never boring. This is truly as pastepunk.com called it, "a masterpiece of misery." Bad Astronaut does for Joey Cape what Tom Delonge from Blink 182 couldn't quite pull off with Boxcar Racer, and that is to front a side project different enough from his original band. I would absolutely recommend this album. Go buy it right now. 9/10 For reviews like this and much more, visit bigtouchin.com
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very impressed, August 12, 2003
As is probably the case with most people looking into "Bad Astronaut," I am a big Lagwagon fan. Now, from Lagwagon I don't expect to hear pianos or strings or anything... but you'll get those on a Bad Astronaut album. But don't let that make you think the music is all that significantly different. Joey Cape's voice is so distinctive, you often forget you're not listening to Lagwagon at times... because at times, the music is actually quite similar to Lagwagon. But only at times... at other times, you'll hear all kinds of other musical styles. On this album at least, Bad Astronaut manages to make their songs flow seamlessly, even though they range over so many musical styles and employ so many instruments. The music is in one word "impressive." The songwriting, the style and the musicianship are all top-notch. Although there's nothing immediately noticeable about how novel their music is, since at any given time, you'll think you've heard that genre of music before. But when you see how they manage to weave it all together, and still arrive at more-than-listenable music (in fact, really good music), you'll be impressed as well.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
by Bad Astronaut 
