ASTRA - The Weirding

http://teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/astra-the-weirding/#comment-9701

That really sounds intriguing to me. I'll have to check 'em out.

The name Lee Dorian sounds familar to me

anyways gonna have to check this out, thanks bro....laterz

Their stuff on Myspace is killer. Right up my alley. I gotta get me a copy of this.

It's as if it were 1972 and Tony Banks and Phil Collins were in a band with some oddly created spawn of Hackett/Howe/Gilmour. Makes me wish I smoked pot.

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The name Lee Dorian sounds familar to me

Lee Dorian is/was the singer in Cathedral and also the owner of Rise Above Records, Astra's record label.

As for Astra, sounds kinda cool if I'm in the right mood. I could see listening to this.

Heard some tracks on their myspace. Good stuff!

I've had this about 2 weeks now and I love it. It's a little further "out-there" than the stuff I normally listen to, but something just grabs me with this cd. Great "giant headphones sitting in a bean bag chair" kind of music.

I have it and enjoy it very much. There isn't a single moment of originality on here (some riffs are DIRECTLY lifted from King Crimson and/or Yes) but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

They set out to sound like a retro, early 70's prog band and that's what they sound like.

That's what I mean by "out-there" by my standards. I've never listened to or particularly cared about 70's prog-rock. I only started listening to Pink Floyd about 3 or 4 years ago. So this is all new to me.

You guys need to check out the self-titled and A Small Pocket Of Pure Spirit EP by Silver Sunshine. That was Astra before a name change. Fantastic stuff.

I don't own the Astra album yet, so I can't really compare, but I imagine they're similar. Seems that Astra make no mention of Silver Sunshine now, though, so maybe they are different. Originally they did mention the name change in their bios and stuff.

Either way, Silver Sunshine are excellent: http://www.myspace.com/silversunshineband

Eyesore wrote:

You guys need to check out the self-titled and A Small Pocket Of Pure Spirit EP by Silver Sunshine. That was Astra before a name change. Fantastic stuff.

I don't own the Astra album yet, so I can't really compare, but I imagine they're similar. Seems that Astra make no mention of Silver Sunshine now, though, so maybe they are different. Originally they did mention the name change in their bios and stuff.

Either way, Silver Sunshine are excellent: http://www.myspace.com/silversunshineband

Wow, that's cool too. But not as trippy as Astra.

I am going to put this band's CD on ever expanding want list. Excellent job on the review s, it made me want to run out and buy the CD right away.

Bump...

These guys have a new out now...Black Chord

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Chord-Astra/dp/B0076NAVG2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC?ie=UTF8&coliid=INSUY3Q3CG4ZI&colid=1YY4NLP7T11YP

I enjoy The Weirding very much, so I imagine I'll be adding this one to collection soon too.

I found another retro-prog outfit that nails the mood even better than Astra.

Wobbler from Norway. This track sounds like a lost Yes tune from 1972.

Wobbler is a brilliant band.

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Wobbler from Norway. This track sounds like a lost Yes tune from 1972.

Well, it does sound like Yes. I'll give you that. Unfortunately, I don't care much for Yes.

Eyesore wrote:

Wobbler is a brilliant band.

So far they are very good at doing an exact carbon copy of Yes, whether they develop their own sound remains to be seen.

What I like about these bands is the "sound", the vintage instrumentation and production sound, because those sounds are my all time favorites.

However, at this point I would say Astra and Wobbler have spent more time on the "sound" than the songwriting. Wobbler is better, Astra right now would interest me alot more if they were just instrumental, I don't think their vocal arrangements really work like they should, I also forget what I've heard the instant the record stops playing.

I thought Astra was all instrumental?

Eyesore wrote:

I thought Astra was all instrumental?

It's about 50/50.

S.D. wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

I thought Astra was all instrumental?

It's about 50/50.

Probably even less than that. Maybe 70/30. The vocals definately take a back seat to the music. Like SD, I don't pay much mind to the vocals, however they don't bother me either. I think they fit in well enough with the music as to not be distracting or poorly done.

I'm a newbie when it comes to prog, but I enjoy both of Astra's albums very much.

Ya guys should check out this band, Ad Infinitum. They sound like a cross between Yes and Genesis if David Pack(Ambrosia) was the lead singer. They have two vocalists and great harmonies kinda like Ambrosia.

Fans of Astra should check out the drummer's solo album 'Outer Nebula, Inner Nebula". It's a mixture of free form jazz and psychedelia, good stuff for those inclined to more "out" sounds.



The Porter Records website contains another song and an interview with David.

http://www.porterrecords.com/id39.html

S.D. wrote:

Fans of Astra should check out the drummer's solo album 'Outer Nebula, Inner Nebula". It's a mixture of free form jazz and psychedelia, good stuff for those inclined to more "out" sounds.



The Porter Records website contains another song and an interview with David.

http://www.porterrecords.com/id39.html

Nah, not digging that. Too far out there for me. Sounds like they're just warming up their instruments, getting ready to play.