God Is An Astronaut:
Origins:
Rocket Girl:
16th Sept 2013:
7/10
Irish post-rockers GIAA have been unravelling the contents of their box of mesmeric musical tricks since 2002 but, despite treading a similar path to Scotland's mercurial Mogwai and the much-lauded Explosions In The Sky, haven't yet garnered the same level of adulation. Tellingly, Origins, is unlikely to change all that but it is an engaging listen nonetheless.
This seventh album kicks off in familiar territory - a gradually building atmospheric instrumental-rock epic in the form of The Last March - before swinging its manhood right in your face with the heftier chops of Calistoga, featuring (shock horror) vocals via subtle vocodering. Don't worry, the haven't been raiding Daft Punk's musical supplies for inspiration - instead, the voice merely acts as an uplift during the 'chorus'.
And so the rest of the album continues in much the same way as before with deviations occasionally challenging the listener. The more reflective pieces work well - Reverse World is a druggy piano-driven canter and Weightless could easily sum up the word 'soaring' were it possible to soundtrack a dictionary with audio samples, while the near-danceable morsels such as Exit Dream and Transmissions perhaps lack the warmth of their plaintive neighbours.
But overall, Origins is a departure for GIAA in so far as a co-writer (The Fountainhead's Pat O'Donnell) has added his two Euro's worth in both the lyrical and musical departments, giving the band a bit of breadth.
Although there are no clear stand-out tracks (even Spiral Code, the first single morphs into the rest), Origins is original enough to attract the diehards and the curious.
Buy here