Sound exists in outer space for San Francisco’s astronautical quartet, the Asteroid No. 4.
Sound — and its organized, grooveable offspring, music – relies on air molecules for its transmission to your eager ears. Sound’s need for atmosphere is hardly a limitation for the Asteroid No. 4. The A4 deal in the electromagentic waves of shoegaze and solar flares.
Last Friday, September 27, 2024 marked the launch of the Asteroid No. 4 latest full-length release, “Several Shapes of Solar Flares”, availbale for purchase on Bandcamp. Dig it here, people: https://theasteroidno4.com/pages/about
Aptly titled, the new LP, “Several Shapes of Solar Flares” is both musical and celestial. “Several Shapes of Solar Flares” will surely delight fans turned on to their space-drenched blend of shoegaze and dream pop.
Any mass ejection of electromagnetic radiation — or record release — from the Asteroid No. 4, garners my attention. I am a fan of these space minstrels. Surely the lads have done their sonic research, for this newborn record boasts perfect timbre and tone. “Several Shapes of Solar Flares” sounds both utterly contemporary, yet recognizably reverant to our sonic champions of yore.
And it should!
I recall my decades’ old interview with the A4’s lead Pennamite, Scott Vitt, revealing the band was named for our mutual heroes, the Spacemen 3. In the following years, the A4 broke from their East coast orbit for the psyched-out proving grounds of the San Francisco Bay. For over two decades, they dabbed and dabbled in shoegaze and space-jangle, creating a pastiche of modern space pop.
The lead track, “Under Lock and Key” ignites the space race with the driving, arcing, wall-sound, familiar to fans of Ride, MBV, and Chapterhouse. At only four and half minutes, I would have been ok had the song stretched for 90 minutes. The melody bounces and bends under the perfectly mixed harmonies of of our astro-musical heroes.
DJ’s and music junkies wanting to mainline the choicest cut, may jump to the album’s single, “Caroline’s Gone”. While the entirity of “Several Shapes of Solar Flares” is airwave ready, “Caroline” soars above the rest. The driving, strident riff builds under the floating, reverberating lead and hummable chorus. Tune in to your local college radiostream for this A4 tune that ranks among their best.
You can dig some righteious college radio right here: https://www.wcsb.org
Another album highlight is the Spooky-esque sound of “Elevator”. Here the A4 channel the rolling rhythm of London shoegaze pioneers, Lush from their 1992 sophmore release. While listeners will enjoy echoes of the familiar “Nothing Natural” riddim, “Elevator” is uniquely Asteroid No.4. The Asteroid No. 4 layer soaring keys and echoing fx to perfectly adorn the albums brilliant listen.
Time and tour-tested, dig the Asteroid No. 4 as they release “Several Shapes of Solar Flares”. Since the late 1990’s, San Francisco’s Asteroid #4 have consistenly provided sonic eruptions that draw inspiration from the psych and shoegaze masters. While the ephemeral beauty of solar flares may last only hours, the A4’s latest release will orbit your playlist ad infintum.
