Tuesday, July 15, 2014

CASSETTE REVIEW: Orange Aurora “Dracula Coil” (Rok Lok Records)


            Orange Aurora is an artist that I began listening to before this cassette was released on Rok Lok Records, yet I don’t think I actually listened to “Dracula Coil” before it was released on cassette because I didn’t want to ruin it.   It’s always such a different experience to hear something for the first time on cassette as opposed to hearing it digitally and then hearing it again on cassette.   Yes, I like listening to cassettes better, but it still somehow spoils it to hear the digital version first so I try to avoid that whenever possible.

            When you listen to Orange Aurora, especially on this cassette, there are three main factors that come out in the music, which makes the overall sound of it.   The first you will most likely notice is that there is this dreamy quality to the music that is somewhere between The Cure and Aloha.   It’s pop drum beats, tinny and something in a post genre but I’m not sure what it is post of exactly (hardcore, punk and maybe even metal could all apply if mixed together somehow)

            The next thing you might notice are the vocals, which offer something along the lines of Daniel Johnston but to me mostly come out like Craig Owens of Chiodos and I love that about them for obvious reasons.    They have that nasally, high pitched sort of vibe to them, but it does ultimately remind me a lot of when Craig Owens was out doing his solo acoustic tour some years back.   (Look it up on YouTube if you must, as there are a number of videos out there)

            The third thing you should probably take away from listening to Orange Aurora is that these songs are music heavy.   They have vocals, sure, but they tend to lean more towards the side of being instrumental than having words and for that I also do enjoy them.   Someone once asked me what the appropriate number of words was for a review.  I think of that when I listen to this because it’s also a matter of what the appropriate number of words is for a song is: enough.  







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