| Asteroid
#4
http://www.loungerecords.com
In
the mid 1990s Philadelphia was really cooking with neo-psychedelic rock
inspired by artists like Syd Barrett and Neu, and renewed by the Spacemen
3 and Stereolab. Asteroid #4 performed at the nexus of this Philly gravity
well. This sound was typified by their track "Car Thief Millenium" on Eric
Zimmerman's Sounds from the Philadelphia Low
Orbit Lounge compilation.
But
by 1999 their sound had changed towards more coherent indie-pop. Gone was
the smoke machine, womb inspired spinning red and pink lights, mirrors,
and space echoes. Now their lyrics are...well, comprehesible, and while
they still jam, it seems more 60s garage band than real psychedelic. They
used to do neat things with pedals and sometimes the noise they made was
an ecstasy of space frequencies, reminiscent of early Pink Floyd.
Their
first album Introducing Asteroid #4
really is excellent and contains a few ambient and experimental tracks.
I've seen it at Sound of Market (11th and Market) and at Spaceboy Records
(above Zipperhead on South). |
