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█▓█ General Info :
█▓█ Title .........: Sugar And Feathered
█▓█ Artist ........: Aspera
█▓█ Music Style ...: Indie
█▓█ Type ..........: Album
█▓█ Release Date ..: Dec-26-2002
█▓█
█▓█ Used Tools :
█▓█ Grabber .......: Audiograbber 1.70
█▓█ Encoder .......: Fhg Radium MP3 Codec V1.263
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█▓█ Additional Info:
█▓█ Source ........: CDDA
█▓█ No. Of Songs ..: 12
█▓█ Size ..........: 59,1 MB
█▓█ Playtime ......: 42:55 min
█▓█ URL ...........: www.jagjaguwar.com
█▓█ Label .........: Jagjaguwar
█▓█ Quality .......: 192kbps / 44,1kHz / HQ / Full Stereo
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█▓█ 01 ::: Great Leaps ::: 04:48
█▓█ 02 ::: Say Say Good Bye Bye ::: 04:14
█▓█ 03 ::: Sugar Walls ::: 03:31
█▓█ 04 ::: Pearl and Brine ::: 03:26
█▓█ 05 ::: Hummingbird ::: 02:10
█▓█ 06 ::: Another Blue Frisbee ::: 04:08
█▓█ 07 ::: Come and Get it ::: 00:53
█▓█ 08 ::: Dont Look Down (at Everyone) ::: 03:51
█▓█ 09 ::: Goodnight ::: 02:47
█▓█ 10 ::: Twenty Minutes of the Day ::: 05:14
█▓█ 11 ::: Tiptoe Breaker ::: 03:41
█▓█ 12 ::: Sun to Sun ::: 04:12
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█▓█ The cover art for Sugar & Feathered takes you right into a forest, one
█▓█ with beautiful butterflies and birds circling your head ... but also
█▓█ with strange men with animal heads lurking in the background. That mix
█▓█ of a certain mystical sense of beauty with an uneasiness about what's
█▓█ around perfectly fits the music on Aspera's latest album (their first
█▓█ since shortening their name from Aspera Ad Astra). Their dreamy
█▓█ pop-rock is filled with whimsy and fantasy, but also darkness and
█▓█ fear.
█▓█ "If a hummingbird floated past your face again, would he be your only
█▓█ friend, with no one else around?" lead singer Drew Mills intones with
█▓█ his deep, mysterious voice on the track "Hummingbird". He describes
█▓█ what sounds like a magical "Disney moment", where animals gather
█▓█ around to be your friends, but then gets to the heart of the matter:
█▓█ "It's your disease to be the master of the beast". All the while, the
█▓█ band uses keyboards, percussion and who knows what else to create a
█▓█ spooky, shimmering atmosphere, with haunting voices and unexplained
█▓█ sounds surrounding you. It's one of the least-rock songs on the album,
█▓█ but the musical mood is one that exists throughout the album. Aspera
█▓█ blend melodic guitar rock with a multi-layered sonic atmosphere
█▓█ somewhat reminiscent of that on the Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin and
█▓█ Zaireeka, but darker, with more spaces for the evil side of the
█▓█ universe to emerge.
█▓█ Aspera's sound has come quite far since their debut Peace and their
█▓█ attention-getting contribution to the mostly punk-rock Post Marked
█▓█ Stamps series. Their two Insound/ Tiger Style EPs between then and now
█▓█ gave listeners a sense of their evolution, but neither had the depth
█▓█ of style and sound they confidently display on Sugar & Feathered.
█▓█ Their songs rock as much as ever, but with a majestic sense of
█▓█ openness; they have an absolute grasp on using a variety of noises and
█▓█ instruments and blending them into a lush sound that isn't easily
█▓█ broken down into its component parts. Tracks like "Peace + Brine" have
█▓█ a ferocity about them, without moving away from the fantasy- like mood
█▓█ of the album.
█▓█ Other songs, like "Goodnight" and "Sun to Sun", have a weird
█▓█ nursery-song feel to them, like Mills is your warped uncle singing you
█▓█ a lullaby that keeps going in more bizarre directions. These tracks
█▓█ help illuminate part of the territory Aspera is working in here: fairy
█▓█ tales. Their songs have the mix of youthful dreaming, scary reality
█▓█ and absolute otherworldliness that comes straight from all of the
█▓█ classic fairy tales. Like the Brothers Grimm and all other imaginative
█▓█ weirdos, Aspera are pulling you into an unusual world of their own
█▓█ creation. On Sugar & Feathered, they're leading you into the most
█▓█ shadowy and the brightest forests in their brains, then leaving you
█▓█ there to explore what's lurking behind the trees.
█▓█ [ review by Dave Heaton @ http://www.popmatters.com ]
█▓█
█▓█
█▓█
█▓█ I'm about to reinvent the wheel. Seriously, it'll be awesome. Check
█▓█ this out. You know that round, circular shape? Gone! Totally
█▓█ unnecessary. What the wheel needs is a corner. Who would have ever
█▓█ thought of that? I'm, like, a genius! And I'll tell you what inspired
█▓█ me. There was this band, see, and they were called Aspera Ad Astra.
█▓█ They made this really cool, spacy, shoegazer music, sometimes
█▓█ recalling a less bombastic My Bloody Valentine, other times a simpler
█▓█ Spiritualized. They made an album of this music called Peace in 1998,
█▓█ a highly recommended record if you are so inclined to occasionally
█▓█ bask in such sound.
█▓█ But Aspera Ad Astra lost a member-- namely, their lead singer, Michael
█▓█ Robinson. That's when they got the bright idea to reinvent their sound
█▓█ and themselves. So what was their remarkable change, their
█▓█ reinvention? To what did it amount exactly? Sugar & Feathered,
█▓█ released under the truncated name Aspera, holds the answer: They took
█▓█ their spacy, hypnotic sound, sped it up a bit, added Drew Mills'
█▓█ shaky, whiny lead vocals to the mix, and augmented the tunes with
█▓█ Fridmann-esque orchestral arrangements and production techniques.
█▓█ So in order to reinvent themselves, they decided to sound more like
█▓█ Mercury Rev, or at least a faux-Fridmann production. Yeah, I thought
█▓█ it was a brilliant idea at first, too. But then I realized it just
█▓█ didn't hold up. They didn't make it better, like my new and improved
█▓█ wheel has done. Granted, they've got a couple enchanting moments on
█▓█ this release. But a couple out of 42 doesn't quite cut it. They use
█▓█ flashy, modern, psychedelic layers and vocal effects whenever they can
█▓█ now, but it feels unsubstantial, and sometimes just out of place. And
█▓█ Drew Mills' slightly taxing vocals don't complement the new sound
█▓█ nearly as much as Robinson's silky, dulcet tones would, and as they
█▓█ once did for Ad Astra.
█▓█ My biggest complaint, when it comes to production and engineering
█▓█ decisions, is in the drum sound. At least three of the songs here have
█▓█ drum tracks that prominently feature a distracting fuzz tone. It
█▓█ doesn't sound like a conscious decision; more like the engineer didn't
█▓█ know how to get rid of it in noise reduction. Songs like "Another Blue
█▓█ Frisbee," a pop song which features a dull-edged but dreamy melody and
█▓█ heavenly Shields- ish guitars, would be entirely effective if it
█▓█ weren't for the abrasive, misplaced hissing static on the otherwise
█▓█ complimentary beat.
█▓█ "Another Blue Frisbee" is also the culprit of another crime Aspera
█▓█ commits more than once on Sugar & Feathered. Since their more
█▓█ blatantly shoegazer days, they seem to have forgotten how to flesh
█▓█ their ideas out before moving on to the next. At the end of "Frisbee,"
█▓█ a gently plucking acoustic guitar begins, a strategically placed
█▓█ kickdrum hits, and bass notes seem to indicate the introduction to a
█▓█ new, exciting groove. Yet, it simply fizzles out, and changes into
█▓█ "Come and Get It," a minute-long instrumental interlude featuring more
█▓█ of the same booming, echo-laden, contrived psychedelia that still
█▓█ doesn't work here.
█▓█ In fact, the only time Aspera truly succeed on this outing is with the
█▓█ penultimate track, "Tiptoe Breaker." The song opens with a wall of
█▓█ crashing cymbals, pounding floor toms, and a searing, melodic electric
█▓█ guitar lead, before suddenly changing completely into a trippy,
█▓█ bombastic pop song somewhat suggestive of Eno's early 80's work on the
█▓█ Talking Heads' Fear of Music. It's an unexpected, pleasant surprise,
█▓█ and it finally turns the otherwise boring and ineffective psychedelia
█▓█ into something exciting by simply drawing from different sources.
█▓█ Perhaps Aspera should take this as a clue for the future, in order to
█▓█ instill some of my genius into their potential. Hell, maybe Aspera
█▓█ should have given me a shot at reinventing them in the first place. I
█▓█ mean, I reinvented the wheel, for Christ's sake. You saw it. What more
█▓█ evidence do you need?
█▓█ [ Spencer Owen @ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com ]
█▓█
█▓█
█▓█
█▓█ Aspera, formerly Aspera Ad Astra, hail from Philadelphia, though it
█▓█ would be more appropriate to call it Psychedelphia considering the
█▓█ psyche- pop contemporaries - the Lilys and Bardo Pond, among others -
█▓█ with which Aspera share a hometown.
█▓█ But while the Lilys play more along the lines of the hazy British
█▓█ shoegazer movement on a power pop sugar rush, and Bardo Pond
█▓█ occasionally find themselves crossing into Sonic Youth and noisy
█▓█ no-wave hood, Aspera find their inspiration in the rolling, open
█▓█ fields of Oklahoma. Yes, indeed, Aspera share a whimsical affinity
█▓█ with the Flaming Lips for shuddery, thin, almost off-key falsetto
█▓█ vocals and fuzzy, gently detuning guitars.
█▓█ Sugar & Feathered is much more concise and less suffocating than
█▓█ previous Aspera releases. Dense, dreamy space- rock is toned down for
█▓█ more accessible, folkier melodies. Like the Flaming Lips, drums are
█▓█ punchy and resounding as keyboard warble and guitar chime share
█▓█ shifting space, though Aspera can't come close to the Lips in
█▓█ emotional vulnerability. Instead, Aspera make breezy pop nuggets with
█▓█ an undated retro feel. It's like they're attempting to recreate
█▓█ fleeting memories of what radio sounded like 30 years ago, but making
█▓█ it with today's production standards and a taste for Syd Barret- era
█▓█ Pink Floyd.
█▓█ On Sugar & Feathered, Aspera's martial rhythm holds tight, placing
█▓█ them among their Philadelphia cohorts (and along with the Elephant 6
█▓█ collective) as one of the bands leading the march of indie rock
█▓█ psychedelic revivalism.
█▓█ [ Tony Ware @ http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com ]
█▓█
█▓█
█▓█
█▓█ uuuh ... you did read till 'ere? woooaaa. whatta guy! merry x-mas! :)
█▓█ lil late, i know. take care, grrls and guys.
█▒█
█░█
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[ best viewed in jane with lucida console ansi (size 8) ]
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_/ /____ _/ /____ _____ _/ /____ ____\ \_ ____________ .
.) _/ (.) _/ (. __ .) /_ (.) _\ (. ._ /_|_
| \ | \ | /_/ | / | \ | |/_ |
|________|________| |________|________| |
. .
| Dir : Aspera_-_Sugar_and_Feathered-2002-CMG/
| Date : 12-26-2002 23:50
_|__ bn|e
| /_____________________________________________________|
Files
Path
Size
[BMW]-[Indie-2002]-(58.8 MB in 12 files of 192kbps Stereo)-[bender@rec