Articles
Artist Speaks: Rick Wade
Mico Nonet's Top 10
Solvent's Top 10
Ten Questions: Autistici

Albums
An On Bast
Aster
Autistici
Balmorhea
Beneva vs. Clark Nova
Bersarin Quartett
Bong-Ra
Carlos y Gaby
Lawrence English
Coniglio-Marzorati
Daedelus
Detritus
Dom Mino'
Yair Etziony
Evangelista
Fear Falls Burning
Fluorescent Grey
Forestflies
Heribert Friedl
Glowstyx
Inlandsis
KiloWatts
Krill.minima
M.B + E.D.A.
Mico Nonet
Alfredo Costa Monteiro
Németh
David Newlyn
orchestramaxfieldparrish
Pedro
Qebo
Jose Luis Redondo
The Retail Sectors
Robedoor
Scorn
Snöleoparden
Take
Taunus
Temposhark
Robert Scott Thompson
Asmus Tietchens
Z-arc

Compilations/Mixes
Back to Back Vol. 2
Favourite Places
Future Memories
Nothing Works As Planned
Twin Earth Atlantic

3"/ 7"/ 10"/ 12"/ EPs
Buzzin' Fly Vol 4 Remixes
Franco Cangelli
Cheju
Figurines
Pär Grindvik
Hugo
Gregg Kowalsky
Lerosa
Mico Nonet
Moldy (featuring Juakali)
Take
The Third Man
Andy Vaz

DVD
MONO

Aster: Some Things Seldom Heard Of
Corp!Corp!

Aster, the Austin-based duo of Tim Husmann (drums, keyboards) and Bryan Ellis (vocals, guitar), traffics in a hard-to-resist brand of wistful melodic pop of the kind that suggests kinship to Travis and bands of that ilk. With stately piano playing and lush fields of drums at its music's core, the group typically opts for a multi-layered “wall-of-sound” approach that sometimes threatens to drown Ellis's whisper. Another downside is that Aster's overly polite attack can flirt a little too closely with easy listening, and the synthesizers flooding “We Won't Remember” sound about three decades past their “best-by” date too. Despite such caveats, what ultimately saves Some Things Seldom Heard Of is an above-average stockpile of insinuating melodic charm. The opener “Run Away from the Suits” encapsulates all that's appealing about the group's sound, with the song's shower-storm of glockenspiels, galloping drums, strings, and breathy vocals crowned by melodies that swoon and soar in equal measure. At album's end, "Theme Song" pares things down to an acoustic guitar-piano arrangement that gives the band's sound some welcome breathing room and lets the vocals stand forth more clearly.

March 2008