Brasstronaut – Old World Lies EP (Music Review)
By Andrew Duncan • Jun 12th, 2009 • Category: Categories, Indie Pop, Music Genres, ReviewsBrasstronaut
Old World Lies EP
Unfamiliar
4 out of 5 stars
A quick jaunt into the life of Vancouver’s Brasstronaut — four songs worth, that is — showcases the melancholy quaintness these songs demonstrate.
When the double-bass sway back and forth, you cannot help but go with the flow. The trumpet, sometimes traded in or stacked on top of a fugelhorn, add punctuation to these cool, breezy songs as the drums drive the listener through. You cannot help but be immediately fascinated.
Like Beirut being sucked in through a reflective black hole and spit back out as soundtrack meanderings, the music seems simple enough, starting out with multi-instrumental pop elements in a sleepy jazz construction as Edo Van Breemen gives a little steam punk prose on “Requiem for a Scene:” “Sharpen your pitchforks and burn down the Internet,” just as the music sends you floating away into the cosmos.
But by the time you get through “Insects,” a song like “Fan” does not mean as much and is easily a distant memory. This post-eight minute opus is dominated by a piano that transforms into strings that spin you farther and farther into your own mind.
For the most part, it’s not just the fact that they throw in a horn or some kitschy instrument for the cuteness factor that is now commonplace by indie standards. Brasstronaut has genuinely incorporated proper use of composition and tonal qualities, as well as diverse relationships and unlimited possibilities between the instruments, making each of these numbers as comprehensive as can be, as well as very pleasing to listen to.
Andrew Duncan is a journalist who has migrated to the forces of academia. He has written for various publications including Chord, Heckler, Readyset...Aesthetic, and a vast array of alternative press contributions. When not roaming the streets of Indianapolis, he is either addicted to KXCI, making music, or striving to watch every film listed on IMDB.
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