Astrophagus

"For Boating" CD

Helmet Room

Genre: pop, country-pop

Denver, CO

Dec 2, 2008

Spacious, moody pop music is the name of the game for Denver�s Astrophagus, one of the lovely Helmet Room label�s signature acts. This wonderfully designed digipak, which intuitively opens from the left instead of the right, houses a sprawling and unique record infused with Talk Talk-esque haze and noir, Graves influenced personal pop, and Pinetop Three�s moody twang-blues. Chiming piano chords and a dark tension fuel curiously straight-faced �Why I Cut Off My Hands,� making it one of the record�s stronger tracks. Also recommended are the noir blues of �Feast Day� and the death waltz of �Ruiner�. Miserable �Buena Vista Park� and drudgy �For Boating� weigh the record down a bit, but it is atmospheric instrumentals �Honda Prelude� and extended shoegaze epic �Do You Have 3 Settings?� that save the record by fostering a dark and profoundly pretty atmosphere. For Boating is a strange pop album, characterized by dark and slow-moving songs and often tinged with a slight country twang. Although a few of the songs fail to take off, the majority of this record is a joy to experience.

astrophagus' myspace

80%

youuuuuuuutube!: "buena vista park" video

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 10 tracks, distributed by the label, released 2008]