UK band ASTRALASIA is a unit I probably should have heard about or encountered at some point earlier in my life. They have been around since 1990, have more than a dozen full length albums to their name and appears to be fairly popular. Still, for me this is an unknown band, and their 2014 album “Wind on Water” is my very first encounter with them, thanks to UK vinyl specialist label Fruits de Mer Records.
From the label’s release notes I understand that this production deviates from much of the material they have released so far in that they are improvised features rather than composed songs. From what I can hear this is a band that should improvise a bit more judging from this album at least, as it is an intriguing and well made collection of material. Opening tune Rangoon is one I’d place within an ambient, cosmic electronic context, and later on the other short song, Cresta Run, comes across as a somewhat more intense psychedelic affair, rather smooth this one as well, but not quite to the point of meriting a description as ambient though. These two songs share many characteristics, even of markedly different in construction and expression, which is the reason for separating them from the rest of the songs. Both of them are the opening cuts on their respective sides of this vinyl production too, which perhaps isn’t all that surprising.
Both sides of the album have a longer song that follows the relatively shorter first track. On the A side this is Wind on Water, a fifteen minute trek that settles in a highly compelling style I’d basically describe as less intense, lighter version of Hawkwind, and with more of a psychedelic orientation and not quite as much of a space rock one. The second and last track on the B-side is another creation that hits the fifteen minute mark and then some, in this case one where subtly chaotic passages bookends the song with a midsection that again inspires thought to the likes of Hawkwind.
The clear highlight as far as I’m concerned is the 7 inch vinyl single that is a part of the package for this product. Here we’re treated to material that for one reason or another haven’t found their place on any of Astralasia’s former or future productions, and as far as leftovers go these are stunning. The Desert is a dark song that indeed inspires to thoughts and associations of such a landscape, with harmonica details, a dark and subtly twisted spoken voice and a generally dark, almost brooding mood to it. A possible soundtrack for a future Mad Max flick perhaps? It is a compelling affair first and foremost, a tad hard to pigeonhole into any specific subgenre of music and all the better for just that.
Continuim concludes this production as the B-side of the vinyl single part of this package, and here I found Astralasia to share quite a few similarities to a band like Ozric Tentacles. Steady beats, surging textures and atmospheric guitar soloing aplenty is assembled into a high energy, strong tension affair here, with plenty of subtle cosmic details to enjoy alongside the rich in mood guitar soloing that is an ongoing feature. Not quite as intriguing as A-side The Desert, but a highly charming number nonetheless.
All in all “Wind on Water” comes across as a varied and charming album, and the additional 7 inch single comes across as the proverbial icing on the cake. The band moves smoothly from ambient electronic cosmic music through psychedelic rock with electronic orientation and all the way to a careful variety of space rock, with plenty of moments of beauty and magic to be enjoyed along the way. An excellent album if you have a fairly liberal taste of music that encompass the various twists and turns this fine band is capable off, and one likely to harvest it’s fair share of very positive reviews.
My rating: 90/100
