The Asteroid No.4 - Northern Songs

17 Septembre 2020

WORLD I Psychedelic rock / power pop legends The Asteroid No.4 will release their new album 'Northern Songs' LP on September 18. This much-anticipated collection of tracks will be released through a partnership with UK-based Cardinal Fuzz Records and Portland's Little Cloud Records.

Stalwarts of the modern 'psych' genre, they are known for their prolific discography of reverb-drenched recordings and liquid-projected live performances. With a sound all their own and neo-psychedelic / shoegaze learnings, they are often compared to acts like Spacemen 3 and Paisley Underground kingpins The Rain Parade.

This new track comes on the trail of singles 'Swiss Mountain Myth'. 'The After Glow' and 'Northern Song'.

Northern Song by The Asteroid No.4

Now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, The Asteroid No.4 originated in Philadelphia in the latter half of the 1990s and gradually began to relocate westwards in 2011. After several lineup changes, for the last decade, the band has been foundationally comprised of Scott Vitt (vocals, guitar), Eric Harms (guitar), Adam Weaver (drums, vocals) and Matty Rhodes (bass, vocals).

'Northern Songs' is the band's tenth full length record, following up the 'Collide' LP in 2018. Here, the 12-string folk-rock jangle of the mid-60's Byrds is overlaid with the washed-out vocal harmonies of Ride and topped off with psychedelic drones familiar to Spacemen 3. This is a hypnotic hybrid of several different genres filtered through the kaleidoscope of all things psychedelic.

On this new album, they did all writing, playing, recording, mixing and mastering in their own studio. This is the first time they've gone fully DIY since their fourth album 'An Amazing Dream' (2006), where the band finally found their own trademark sound.

"This is a first for us as we've always had at least guest musicians or someone else mix or master. It was an experiment on what we could do ourselves and testing our new studio in San Rafael, CA for the first time. Our sound is primarily rooted in the British indie music from the 80s and 90s. This is the music we grew up on, we still listen to today, and what happens as a natural result of our songwriting," says Scott Vitt.

"Lyrically there's reference to what is happening both socially and politically in the world around us. We wanted to make an album that brought an air of calm or even nostalgia, to remind people that there was a time, not all that long ago, when things seemed way more normal compared to what we're experiencing today."

Asteroid # 4 - Losing Touch With My Mind

A dynamic live act, The Asteroid No.4 integrate multi-textured guitars and reverb-drenched vocal harmonies over an unwavering rhythm section. Their prolific output has earned them a dedicated fan base within the flourishing underground psychedelic scene, with over a dozen compilation appearances, digital-only rarity releases, and multiple singles and EPs.

Named after Vesta, the brightest asteroid in our solar system, their moniker is an obvious nod to Spacemen 3, one of the band's main influences. In fact, one of the group’s earliest recordings was a faithful cover of their 'Losing Touch with My Mind'. Released via UK label Rocket Girl’s tribute compilation to the 80’s legends, Pete 'Sonic Boom' Kember himself named the song as a stand-out track in an interview with Magnet Magazine.

As of September 18, the 'Northern Songs' LP will be available digitally online, including via Apple Music, Spotify and directly from the band via Bandcamp and their own website.

"A great slice of sonic goodness... a ripe and fabulous offering from a band, whose output is always heavily anticipated... a gentle and expansive stream swimming in languorous guitar loops and hazy vocals" – Big Takeover Magazine

"One of the most revered psychedelic rock acts on the West coast music scene today... An expansive soundscape with chilled vocals and impactful drone effect... well worth the wait" – The Spill Magazine

"Humming, fuzzed-out shoegaze riffs and echoing harmonies. The lead drifts above the din, a shoegaze hallmark of psych brethren, Ride and Slowdive" – POW Magazine

"Bay Area transplants Asteroid No. 4 create psychedelic music better than anyone... Jangly, sparkly guitars combine in shoegaze brilliance and a continuously building wall of sound. Its hypnotic atmosphere draws you in and doesn’t let go" – RIFF Magazine

The Asteroid No.4
Northern Songs
Little Cloud Records / Cardinal Fuzz
18 September 2020

Music is not a virus! Admittedly, it contaminates you with the melody, the lyrics, but it can be bought, discovered, hummed, tickles the hollow of your ear, is released on your lips ... Think of the artists, they illuminate your daily life and feed the memory of pretty refrains which will become memories.

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