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UK Rave Review - Whisperin and Hollerin
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I was listening to Aether's "Aethersound" (http://www.aethersound.com) the other day and was struck ...I was listening to Aether's "Aethersound" (http://www.aethersound.com) the other day and was struck by how much I kept going back to it. Sometimes when I have a big stack of CDs to review, I will grab the whole stack when I leave the house. I put the stack on the passenger seat of my vehicle and start listening to them as I go about my business, either taking mental notes of writing them in a notebook I carry with me. For some reason, one day I kept going back to Aether.
Did I go back because of the thoughtful, introspective lyrics that keep you thinking long after the disc has finished? Did I go back because "Aethersound" is made by a quality band who know their instruments and how to get the most out of them? Did I go back because Aether played with a sense of passion and urgency in which I had not heard in years? Whatever the reason I kept going back, Aether is real and they are here to stay.
Right from the start of "Aethersound" through the finish, I am taken on a mental journey. The opening track, "Milk," grabs your attention like a hungry gorilla would grab his food. Their songs are full of a passion and a subtle fury that will keep you attentive throughout the whole disc. Not once while listening to this did I want to skip any track. Often I had to fight the urge to go back and replay what I had just heard.
"New Sound" is smart, heavy, and will rattle your ancestors if you turn it up loud enough. "Deep Dive" is a thoughtful, expressive exploration of one's soul. However, there are no particular duds on the album. Put this album on and let it go. Then go back and listen to the ones that caught your attention. This is an album that will stay with you for a very long time.
-Adam Harrington, www.whisperinandhollerin.com
01/18/07
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Spanish Internet Radio Album of the Week
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During three previous EPs, the quartet from Columbus, Ohio, had worked a reputation as a phenomenal ...During three previous EPs, the quartet from Columbus, Ohio, had worked a reputation as a phenomenal band of instrumental rock atmospherics. Their sound had been compared to groups like Sigur Ros, Mogwai, The Cure, The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, and My Bloody Valentine. However, with the surprising incorporation of Aaron Pickering as a permanent vocalist, the sound of this splendid American formation acquires a dimension almost completely new but not too far away from that initial musical proposal. Their present mixture of attractive noisepop, exquisite electronics and glamorous shoegaze is simply devastating.
- Fernando Pérez Herrero, www.cieloliquido.net
01/05/07-01/12/07
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"British invasion, Columbus style"
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æther is firmly planted on the pop side of the noise-pop divide, but Paul Carney and company clearly...æther is firmly planted on the pop side of the noise-pop divide, but Paul Carney and company clearly logged many formative hours listening to "Isn't Anything."
Much of the Columbus group's sound is culled from the heyday of shoegaze and Britpop, with echoes of bands like the Stone Roses and the first two Radiohead albums informing their spaced-out epics.
æther crafts moody, sleek soundscapes from the ground up, with Christian Volpe's drums as the frame, Miquel Stubbs' bass providing the engine and the rest of the band applying a thick, elaborate paint job.
Aaron Pickering's vocals are authoritative, but what you really notice is Carney's sheen of guitars, keyboards and samples, with drones and melodies that make for plenty of texture and tension.
Live, æther becomes a multimedia experience, with video collages culled from the members' international travels lending visuals to the sonic stew.
by Chris Deville
May 18, 2006
Copyright © 2006 Columbus Alive, Inc. All rights reserved.
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TAXI reviews the single, milk
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This is an extraordinary sounding track. I am immediately enthralled by your vocal performance, whi...This is an extraordinary sounding track. I am immediately enthralled by your vocal performance, which easily conveys the emotion inherent in the lyrical imagery, and just when I thought the performance couldn't possibly sound any more exciting, you go ahead and up the emotional ante yet another notch. Thrilling. Stylistically, the song recalls in my mind any number of (mostly) British sounding acts, from the Sound to My Bloody Valentine and beyond. An extremely rewarding listening experience.
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Donewaiting.com preview excerpt
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Pickering’s vocals add an entirely new dimension to the lush instrumentation laid down by founding m...Pickering’s vocals add an entirely new dimension to the lush instrumentation laid down by founding members Paul Carney (guitars, synths/samples) and Christian Volpe (drums) and relative newcomer Miquel Stubbs (bass). While there is no denying that British-instrumental rock influence, the band now reminds me of the late, great The Sheila Divine, who themselves were influenced by the likes of The Smiths.
- December 15, 2006, by Chip Midnight
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t.o.p. independent paper review
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Most of the record rides a chugging, low-key bassline through dark electronic-pop waters. The ... Most of the record rides a chugging, low-key bassline through dark electronic-pop waters. The band flirts with some lightly shoegaze-inspired experimentation, but ultimately aether’s sound owes a hefty debt to the gloomy pop of Echo and the Bunnymen.
Subtler shades of the Smiths, Bauhaus, the Bravery and the Cure seep into the rich musical mix, making the album palatable for fans of all manner of brooding, dramatically inclined rock.
To it’s credit, the group does a really good job of creating a suitably dark atmosphere for itself. It also manages to sound confident and ambitious without seeming pompous or ridiculous – which isn’t always an easy thing to do in this genre.
With a strong voice at times reminiscent of Nick Cave, Pete Yorn or the guy from Remy Zero, vocalist Aaron Pickering is the star of aether’s show.
“I want you to notice,” whispers Pickering repeatedly on a quiet, unsettling song. His uncharacteristically airy delivery lands somewhere between Trent Reznor and Greg Dulli, which isn’t bad company to be in.
Aethersound is a promising effort.
- Karen E. Graves, The Other Paper 12/14-20, 2006
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"Space shot"
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Besides being the band's first full-length release, Aether Sound will introduce fans of the Columbus...Besides being the band's first full-length release, Aether Sound will introduce fans of the Columbus outfit's two previous EPs to a major change in their swirling, cinematic sound: the vocals of keyboardist Aaron Pickering.
"We started off as an instrumental band by default," said percussionist Christian Volpe. "We couldn't find anyone who was a good fit for us."
That changed when a former member left to start a family, the remaining members revisited the search and, as Volpe put it, they "got lucky the second time around."
"The thing we like about it is that it brings a human element to the music, so it's not quite as ambient," he said. "It gives it something more people can connect with."
The band is still manipulating the boundaries that separate a catchy pop number from an abstract noise piece. But now for nearly every synth riff, drum loop and exquisite crescendo drifting calmly out to space, a lyric beautifully sung implies that the band would like you to join them on a journey into the nether regions of electronic rock.
—John Ross
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UWeekly preview
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Central Ohio’s Æther is a fine blend of synthesizers with a slow groove that is done here with almos...Central Ohio’s Æther is a fine blend of synthesizers with a slow groove that is done here with almost-mathematical precision. Aaron Pickering’s vocals blend seamlessly with the tracks on the band’s new demo, and Paul Carney’s two jobs as guitarist and keyboardist are given their full due in each new song. Christian Volpe and Miquel Stubbs round out the bottom end with fleshy, visceral beats and bass that lend the required pulse to music perfect for fans of Bends-era Radiohead or well-made art-rock in general.
- Josh Reisen, UWeekly (April 2006)
www.uweekly.com
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review - aether cd release
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The Columbus indie-rock band Aether is set to issue its first album with vocals after two years and ...The Columbus indie-rock band Aether is set to issue its first album with vocals after two years and three previous instrumental releases. The addition of vocalist Aaron Pickering late last year contributed another dimension and, perhaps, a wider appeal to the self-described "post-rock instrumental group."
The band’s new album, Aether Sound, seems to compromise little of its instrumental qualities. Pickering’s vocals sound like a partner and co-conspirator, with the resulting sound echoing the sonics-and-singing marriages of Radiohead and the like.
Jon Chinn, Electric Dots and DJ Spidey X will also perform. Admission is $3 to $5.
— Compiled by Aaron Beck and Curtis Schieber
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reviews from the instrumental days
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From the Columbus Alive – May 25, 2005
"Rare air"
Creating music that’s at once compelling and uni...From the Columbus Alive – May 25, 2005
"Rare air"
Creating music that’s at once compelling and unique is a hard task as it is, but take away the component of vocals—the human voice being one of the most individualistic instruments—and that feat is even more difficult. But that’s exactly what Columbus-based instrumental trio Æther has managed to do, first on their In Between the Frames EP, and now to a greater degree on the follow-up Apart EP.
The five-song disc eschews some of its predecessor’s languid moments for a more affronting approach. More direct in some respects, the EP is less “atmospheric,” comprised of songs that demand attention through a variety of means. “If I Could” utilizes a murmured vocal sample to undermine the track’s tranquil repetitions, while “The Stares” and “Mantra” feature more forceful playing, the latter’s mix of fuzz and submerged synth throbs being particularly effective.
The band—guitarist Paul Carney, bassist Oren Shai and drummer Christian Volpe—have begun selling the CD at their shows, the next one being at Skully’s Music Diner on Saturday, May 28. —Stephen Slaybaugh
From the Columbus Alive, February 2004
"Locals Only"
With a name (pronounced “ether,” btw) that one needs to use the “option” key to type, and a website that includes essays on what they are trying to do, the heady music produced by local trio Æther might come off as pretentiously didactic were it not done so well. The band will tell you that their music “is shaped by both process and intuitive expression” and doesn’t attempt to be narrative but rather “focuses on spatial relations,” but the combined intuition of Paul Carney (guitar and keyboard), Oren Shai (bass and keyboard) and Christian Volpe (drums and rhythm loops) is surely leading them in the right direction.
Despite their protests to the contrary, there are narrative threads, or at least melodic ones—mostly conveyed by Carney’s guitar work—that run through each of the four instrumental cuts on the band’s new EP, In Between the Frames. With each song hovering around seven minutes, such umbilical lines provide a linear progression through the band’s hazy atmospherics. Considering the pedestrian fare Shai and Volpe created in the past with Stone Velvet and Stardop, respectively, this EP is all the more a spectacular departure from the norm.
This show is Æther’s release party and will also feature Denovo and Chris McCoy and the Gospel. —Stephen Slaybaugh
From "Paradox One" in the UK, July 2004:
www.zeitgeist-scot.co.uk
Aether inhabit the space where art and music collide. This Columbus trio derive inspiration from painters like Pollock and play music incorporating what they describe as ‘electronic/ techno elements in a post-rock setting drawing on concepts of the avant-garde and 20th century composers’ (like Varese and Webber).
The bass/ keys player Oren Shai says the music is more cerebral than gutsy but I’m not entirely sure about that for there is certainly a big connection on the visceral plain with soundscapes as evocative and accessible as, say Baddalamenti or Slow Dive. Indeed elsewhere on their web site it is commented upon that the music is not just cerebral but deeply felt and intensely personal and emotive- I would go along with that.
Everything about this album is stunning. Four 7-8 minutes tracks are more than enough, anything more might become overpowering, too much of a good thing! ‘Gorecki Revisited’ is instantly ear catching, a stunning opener that just gets better and better with each listen. ‘Phase’ is slightly less demonstrative but equally satisfying. ‘Red Maroon’ is a masterpiece built on the foundation of that simplest of devices, the scale. It could and should go on forever. 5 minutes in there is some very eerie organ that is quickly deluged by some thunderous drumming by Christian Volpe. The same eerie organ notes take us out. Paul Carney’s guitar is verging on the dischordant but is never so- there is a remarkable melodic drive throughout that is unusual in such adventurous music. (I have Jerry Kranitz to thank for introducing me to this track and to Aether on his marvellous radio show ‘Aural Innovations’).
‘Waltz for Sophia’ is, as the title suggests, quite tranquil and beautiful. I was reminded of many things I had heard in the past but realised my search was in vain for this music is totally unique.
I wish I had more time to write down all my impressions and to delve a bit further but suffice to say this CD will never be far away from my CD player in the coming weeks and months. I think I am becoming one of Aether’s biggest fans already!
supersonic
