Search - Aspera :: Sugar & Feathered

Underwater band

noisyspoon | Colorado, US of A | 07/05/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The new Aspera (formerly Aspera Ad Astra) feels like it was recorded underwater. Guitars and drums undulate through waves and currents of keyboards and echo effects. Melodies fade in and out, then resurface to gasp for air before submerging again. It's a beautifull piece of work, that starts out humbly and quietly with "Great Leaps" and "Say Say Good Bye Bye". As I mentioned above, there is melody here.... oh yes... pretty little things, that are deceptively simple, and cleverly produced. What's that....? You'd like a point of reference? Well, if I must, recent Flaming Lips. Lovely, and just a tad weird. Not many tracks on "Sugared and Feathered" reach the loud, crazy, Rollerskate Skinnyesque sound that Aspera used on the split CD EP with the also wonderfull Lilys..... but it gets it's rocks off nonetheless. It deserves repeat listens, and rewards them as well. I can't wait to see where Aspera goes after this beautifull LP. This is one of the most solid indie albums I've heard so far this year. All in all, this is an album of heady pop songs for all you psychedelic pop fanatics. I don't expect Jeff Magnum to release anything close to "Over Avery Island" again.... so now I'm going to rest my hopes on Aspera."

Great leaps

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 07/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Aspera's "Sugar & Feathered" has the rich, shimmery psychedelica that you'd get if you listened to the Flaming Lips at the bottom of a pond. Or maybe Jeff Mangum on some very intense acid. Either way, this is lush, rippling, wavering swirl of deep melody, a rich indie wad of psychedelica.



It starts off with the swelling grandeur of "Great Leaps," before shifting to the whimsical "Say Say Goodbye Bye Bye" and the pensive, orchestral "Sugar Walls." Following up is the ghostly punk of "Pearl + Brine," the sparkling ballad "Hummingbird," the disjointed and confusing "Another Blue Frisbee," before coming full circle to the pleasant pop of "Twenty Minutes of the Day," the eerily catchy "Tiptoe Breaker," and the magical "Sun To Sun."



Like its title, "Sugar & Feathered" is sweet and light, but not in an insubstantial way. Instead the music just sounds like sugarcoated, spacey melodies laced with feverish whimsy. That whimsy is strongest at the start -- "Look Down (At Everyone)" sounds almost like a Decemberists track at times.



Drew Mills doesn't really have a good voice. He's a little too wobbly and nasal, but fortunately he gets drowned out by the music more often than not. He sounds better when the vocals are layered over with choruses of angelic backing voices, as in the climax of "Sugar Walls."



Horns, chimes, cymbals, and psychedelic sweeps add eerie depth to the basic guitars and drums. At times the effect falls flat -- "Another Blue Frisbee" is hampered by a spasmodic melody that never figures out how to work itself in, and synthesized effects that seem pasted on. But more often than not, Aspera weaves the quirky instrumentation into the watery psychedelica, and it all meshes together.



Aspera's wavery psychedelica is a fun, rich experience for fans of unconventional indie rock/pop, and "Sugar & Feathered" is an unforgettable little nugget of whimsical weirdness."