Album Review :
Ashes Ashes - Aries

Artist: Ashes Ashes
Album: Aries
Label: EMT Entertainment
Release Date: January 1, 2008
Review by: Eric Pettersson

Tracklist:
1. The Hammer
2. White Lights
3. Airplane
4. Get Steppen Boy
5. Castles
6. Sunlight Somewhere
7. Blue Alley Ways
8. Take Our Oceans
9. Invisible Children
10. Amphetamine

I’m gonna be honest with you guys. Aires is one of those albums that’s just plain hard to review. From the chunky alternative rock guitars to “The Hammer,” to the funky dance sounds of “Airplane,” to the emo sing-along-ability of “Castles,” there’s just too much that could be said. I mean, yeah, it’s guitar-driven alternative rock, but there’s also some other sort of feel to it that’s hard to pin down. Maybe it’s the harmonized voices, including a female in the background, or the really strong melodies on the lead guitars that set things apart. I guess the real problem is that I feel like I should have been listening to this record four years ago. Then again, a lot of great records came out four years ago, so that’s not really a bad thing. No no, I know what it is. The problem here, the thing that makes this album so dang difficult to review, is the production value. Because based on the songs, I’d say Ashes Ashes is a great band. Unfortunately, I’m pretty certain that would be a lot easier to tell if you were seeing them live than if you were listening to this record, because the vocals are a little muffled, the guitars are muddy, and overall the production just sounds like it wasn’t actually done in a studio. Which is a fine thing for home-made demos to be sent to record labels, so if that’s what this is in disguise, then I give the band credit for a demo well done. Hope you find the right label to get you a better recording in the near future, because there’s definitely some great tunes on here that I can enjoy (especially “Take Our Oceans,” the experimental parts are sweet, and the guitar-work at the end of “Invisible Children” gets some props too).

6/10

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