SBSR: The Asteroid Shop “Distant Luxury”

[Please Note: This review was written a while back, misfiled and is coming to you now courtesy of spring cleaning.  Enjoy]

The Asteroid Shop “Distant Luxury”

<1> “Alone” – We’re kicking into some pretty heavy rock here.   And now we have some male vocals I can’t quite describe yet.   They’re kind of baritone, but not as much as, say, Life of Agony.   This has a really interesting, sort of dark, indie rock sound to it.  It’s not quite as depressing as something like the Smiths (Though the lyrics might say otherwise) and yet it doesn’t have that gritty punk rawk that would have me compare it to Hot Water Music either.   It kind of reminds me of No Motiv in some ways, before they got bad.   There is also some pretty complex guitar work going on here.  This just sounds like something- only within the first song- that is too good to be considered “radio rock” and not enough haircut based to be considered true indie rock.

<2> “Distant Luxury” – Yes, I love the drums opening on this song already.   And here come the keys and guitar.   Now that I mentioned the Smiths before, I can kind of hear them in this now.  Heh, see, I influenced my own opinion just there, damn me.   What’s odd too is that the vocals (not as much the music) sound like Ian Curtis in ways as well.   It probably also needs noting that these songs have thus far been very powerful lyrically and I really enjoy that.  I’ve always felt a good song needs good words to sing along to (or just listen to) and this EP has delivered thus far.    And just outside the three minute mark, the drums I love so much are back.   We got into a pretty long interlude there, but it feels like we’re coming back soon.   “When the winter comes, we’ll shake the devil loose”.   Indeed, we shall.

<3> “Burn Out” [Insert opening joke about there being a Green Day named this- it opened the album “Dookie”- here. – Editor] This has a softer, kind of lighter vibe when it starts, but then the vocals come right back to where they’ve been all along.   Would it be too insulting too say this band was a better version of Matchbox 20?  I once blocked an actress-only-in-her-own-mind on Facebook because she went on this rant about how underrated Matchbox 20 was and the like (I shit you not).   Let me state emphatically for the record that Matchbox 20 (and Rob Thomas as a solo guy) are an all around musical punching bag for a reason and that reason is that they suck.   Their first “hit” was based on being in favor of domestic violence.   Ohhhh, and now I hear some female background vocals just ever so slightly.   That must be the singer from The Ghost Wolves (And yes, their drummer is on here too, as if you didn’t need more reasons to appreciate this somewhat dark and brooding rock)

<4> “Hazy Love” – Okay, this is starting almost like an 80’s/90’s dark rock band.   Maybe not the Cure, but possibly Depeche Mode.   Wooo!  The 101!  Cheap pop!  (Seriously, no more California songs, okay?  ‘Kaythnxbye)  This song could almost be a less scary version of Marilyn Manson, but you know, not “scary”, just the “goth” or “industrial”—whatever he adds in that makes parents fear him and children think he’s Paul from ‘The Wonder Years’.   And I hear more female backing vocals of “la la la”.   I’ll keep pointing them out since she commented on my post about her band (Which is still a big thrill to me)  That song seemed short.  It was three and a half minutes, but it just didn’t feel like it was done.