AWmusic

God Is An Astronaut is an Irish trio that released their self-titled fourth album earlier this month. It received some mixed reviews, and is considered generally an average album compared to their earlier releases. I was introduced to God Is An Astronaut through their album Far From Refuge (2007). I thought it was an excellent album that had its own original “zing” to it, considering them a band that knew how to put the “rock” into post-rock. That album sparked much interest in me to check out their older material, which was just as good. While I would consider their music a bit on the mainstream side of post-rock, they can convey the rock sound very well, leaving out a lot of slower, pensive-type features normally found in the genre. That’s not to say that they avoid the quiet-loud crescendo, as that is very apparent in some of the tracks, however they are able to let loose and get loud without all that build up. Metal and progressive influences can be heard in their music, and that is what I think stands them apart from the same old “rock instruments for non-rock use” motto of most post-rock.

The album itself is good. Fans expecting a follow-up from their previous albums will not be disappointed; God Is An Astronaut are quite persistent in keeping their sound linear. That being said, you could get disappointed knowing there aren’t any real amendments (not that their music needed amending, really) to the sound, and nothing that makes it any better than the previous albums, or post-rock in general. In fact, reviewing so much post-rock has gotten me quite sick of hearing it. The disadvantage, I suppose, is that the genre has been and will continue to slowly dwindle due to lack of luster and bands’ desire to fit into the fundamentals of the post-rock regimen. It’s too overdone, and there are few who know how to truly keep the fire going.

So where exactly am I going with this? I’m a bit bored. The album is solid as it stands, but listening to the genre for years, dabbing into different sub-genres, and enjoying every moment of every second that I listen to post-rock has sucked the life force out of me. There is nothing I can note that makes this album stand out on the whole. However, there are some tracks that I can note that I genuinely liked.

My favourite track of the album has to be “Zodiac.” It starts off with a very Arabian-esque style to it–the percussions and the sitar, hoo wee. The guitar riff is equally intriguing, and rather than building up to some grand orchestration, it kicks it at the get-go. It’s refreshing, engaging, and imaginative. “Shores of Orion” is the perfect example of how the band uses their influences to suit their sound. While there is a build up evident in this track, it doesn’t start off too slow and safe, embracing metal and never dishonouring it.

This is a bit of a dark, but hard rock sort of album. It is capable of conveying very good music, but in my own biases I must admit I was bored of it after awhile. Very little sets it apart from the band’s previous albums–it is very consistent with the God Is An Astronaut sound and the rest of what we know of post-rock, so in terms of being something wholly different, it is not. I still recommend this to fans of post-rock because it honestly is good album, but I for one will call it a night and listen to ABBA for a change of pace.

MP3s:

God Is An Astronaut – Post Mortem
God Is An Astronaut – Shores of Orion
God Is An Astronaut – Zodiac