Astorian Stigmata - The Seventh Chemical/Sexual Incision

Hear The Track Here

It's no good looking at me like that, I am as puzzled by the bandname as you are. Mind you, there's me thinking I was in for a dose of turgid space schlock - given the name like - and what I get is something of an entirely different order. Astorian Stigmata are a full four-piece live and gigging band and their material shows the tightness you would expect from such an experience. Certainly the music holds up to scrutiny although - to be honest - it's a bit too shoegazey for my own liking. Still, why should they care? Judging by the lists of gigs up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States, they don't seem to be doing to badly in the real world and I guess that counts more than this electronica fools paradise...

The Seventh Chemical and Sexual Incision are from a seven track Death and Exile EP from the band's website and if these tracks are any indication and you like shoegaze rock, then prepare to lose some time to Astorian Stigmata. Damn, that's a lot of if's, don't get me started on the buts... The Seventh Chemical is the more dreamy of the two tracks I got to hear, in that slow epic rock way much beloved of such bands. As such, it's a very good job indeed and in pretty much all counts too. The song is more than decent, intricate enough to keep your attention from wandering and the sound (and the band) are rocking. Bastard child of prog-rock?? Who knows?

Sexual Incision (ouch, gonna need ice on that) is much more a recognisable rock animal, especially if you appreciate the subtleties of American rock music. Don't know about you guys, but in this track I hear a million ghosts of the past, from Television to Talking Heads, New York Dolls - the list is endless. This track, for my money, is the more noteworthy although both tracks have a very high standard of songwriting and performance going for them. What it shows me is that this might even be an EP worth shelling out a few glass beads for, especially if what I have said has interested you.

Excellent American Indie rock. Highly Recommended (and a keeper for me).