AstronautalisⓅ2011 Fake Four Inc.
Rating: 8/10
Musical schizophrenia. Some times, it’s a bad thing. Actually, most of the time it’s a bad thing, an artist trying to do too many things at once. But some times a musical act draws influence and inspiration from so many different people and genres and locations and life situations, it makes for one massively frenetic, erratic beautiful mess. Astronautalis happens to be the latter. If you look him up on last.fm his “popular tags” are listed as hip-hop, indie rock, and experimental. Based on his latest release, This Is Our Science, I’m not sure I would agree with any of them. Are there elements of all three on the album? Yes. Absolutely, yes (although, I don’t really agree with indie rock as a genre at all. Indie rock, what does that even mean? You released an album independently? Or you’re trying to sound like you released an album independently? And experimental? That’s just because someone couldn’t shove him under some genre umbrella). Sorry. Tangent. But, honestly, Astronautalis would be hard to shelve at a music store. I suppose Pop/Rock would be best, because, let’s face it, it’s the catch-all section. All I have to say, if they had a “Leah Really Likes This” section, it would probably be the first place to have it’s own display (and if it happened in the next couple of weeks).
But you write hip-hop reviews! you say? Well don’t get me wrong, if there was one genre I would use to describe him to a friend (or you, the reader, as in right now), hip-hop, I suppose, would be it. Astronautalis, in fact, raps in most of his songs. He’s known for his rhyme skills, but after listening to this album, he really doesn’t seem limited in his musical voice. He sings in all of his songs as well, and some of them involve no rap at all. In Life The Curse, the final track on the album, I swear he channels Tom Waits. It took me aback the first time I listened to the album the whole way through. That distinct deep low growl resonating from my speakers.
If I’m having a hard time getting my point across, the best description I can give you, is that This Is Our Science sounds like something I’ve been listening to for years. In no way is it dated or played out, but Astronautalis knows how to use the breadth of his multitude of styles and how to play them off of each other. As he bounces around musically from track to track, he’s creating a feel that’s....familiar. And good, quite good.
Oh, Astronautalis. Apparently, he’s been around since 2003. Printing You & Yer Good Ideas and selling it exclusively at shows. He got picked up by Fighting Records and they reissued it in 2005 and two more albums before this. Sometimes music doesn’t make it in popularity across the border north (and the same in reverse) until it’s already on the decline. That point when the artist peaks and releases some of his best work, which sets the bar too high and he/she/they can’t seem to top it for the rest of their career and everyone accuses them of selling out or not being as great as they once thought they were. I’m in no way saying this is the case with Astronautalis, I’m saying that I hope it isn’t.
