Review Summary: Astrogaze?
The first track seemed promising - immediate and rewarding with glimmering melodies. As the track escalated in loudness, it seemed to promise a bright, anthemic post-rock album with an ear for hooks. The second track then popped on and immediately doused my excitement. Astronoid’s variety of sound reeks of a one-trick pony, revealing a band past its expiration date. On top of weak choruses bringing the album down, Brett Boland is content with singing notes accurately and nothing more. His performance is dull and lifeless, melted into the melodic backdrop, but not powerful enough to be worthy of frontman status. The singer sounds like a Deftones wannabe that lacks charm, but also like an incredibly average post-hardcore singer.
The melodic sheen of the guitar is stunning, and the drums push songs forward with blastbeats, double bass pedals, and pop-punk style aggression. Immersion should be easily attainable with this soundscape, it should whisk us outside the Earth’s atmosphere, but the songwriting and vocalist keep us tethered to the ground. The songs are pretty enough but not catchy enough to leave a lasting impression - they enter one ear and leave shortly after. Vocal hooks/melodies can make a memorable album, yet the singer persistently sings robotically. Like nuance is absent in the vocals, so does the album play out, with a lack of memorable moments and hooks.
Whether you would call this nu-gaze, shoegaze, alternative rock, post rock/metal, or blackened pop-punk (please don’t do that), none of that matters. Radiant Bloom is a faceless black hole of personality, sounding like a band you’re nostalgic of, but now consider below average. Glossy production can’t hide the weak songwriting, and the disappointment that each song is the same as the last, with another forgotten chorus and guitar fog. Different drum patterns are really the only thing to look forward to.
Despite my gripes, Astronoid’s latest offers summery vibes and pleasant melodic streams. The sugarcoated riffs sound great, and the drum work is constantly stirring. The sleekly polished, auto-tuned vocals may not stand out, but they at least match the shimmering glint of the guitars. But the problem persists, that a lack of standout tracks and hooks greatly hinders the album. It never reaches the level of excitement it could - sure it produces a shiny soundscape - but they could do so much more.
