Astro Sonic - Come Closer and I'll Tell You

by Adrian Janes

published: 28 / 1 / 2014

Astro Sonic - Come Closer and I'll Tell You

Label: Hubro
Format: CD

Improvised but under-developed debut album from experimental Norwegian synth trio, Astro Sonic

Review

Astro Sonic are a Norwegian trio who have created an album largely produced from improvisation. Unfortunately, much of it sounds like the first steps towards pieces of music, rather than something ready for the public. Gard Nilssen’s drums on ‘The Electric Airbag Police’ set up a steady beat for some inventive bass from Rune Nergaard (the pair have already been playing together for over a decade in the band Bushman’s Revenge) and the keyboard washes of Erlend Slettevoll. The trio settle into a perfectly acceptable head nodding groove, embellished with various electronic blurts, but by the end, rather than feeling that you have completed a musical journey, the lack of development makes it seem like everyone has just grown weary and lost interest. A number of the tracks, like ‘437.7 Days’ and ‘Magnavox’, are especially unrealised, the first largely based around a cello-like grinding drone, the second a mess of freak-out drums, bass and keyboard. Their only virtue is their merciful brevity. Other pieces seem to have more direction, but still fail to attain much beyond creating the basis for something substantial. ‘Orbiter’ begins with a percussive pulse, over which limpid keyboard notes are picked out. An organ drone and random explosive sounds are introduced, the whole adding up to a slightly subverted, meandering prettiness. ‘Lander’ is founded on a tom tom-heavy rhythm pattern and jagged keyboard chords, which are gradually replaced by a woodwind tone. It seems to have some plangent promise, but in this case fades out all too soon. ‘Shoal’ has a simple percussive rhythm, beneath keyboard splashes and other spurts of sound, joined once again by the grinding cello. Some pleasant phrases are chanced upon, but this piece (as with most of the others) falls between being something with some vitality and intrusive muzak - perhaps a new genre, annoying ambient. Penultimate piece ‘Analogue Karma‘, based around the repetition of a jazzy phrase from Slettevol’s Fender Rhodes, builds slowly with Nilssen’s increasingly free drums, and is a little reminiscent of a Jan Hammer-led Mahavishnu Orchestra piece. ‘Fairy Queen’ brings the album to a close, slow, reverbed drums combined with a chilly discordant keyboard. Even more than on ‘Analogue Karma’,there is a sense of mounting tension before the drums drop away entirely and we are left with a few isolated, icy notes. Too much of this album feels like the musical equivalent of rough sketches. It seems to me that to rely so heavily on improvisation, and regard the results as fit for release, can only be justified if those results are supremely inspire. Here there are mainly moments and phrases, seeds not flowers. Yet as if the bulk of the album was in preparation for its concluding tracks, these do achieve some real cohesion and emotional impact. The rest only hints from time to time at the same standard.

Track Listing:-

1 Retrodynamics
2 Orbiter
3 The Electric Airbag Police
4 437,7 Days
5 Magnavox
6 The Shell Falls Rapidly and Splashes
7 Lander
8 Shoal
9 No Satisfaction At All
10 Analogue Karma
11 Fairy Queen