Saturna

Me? I love Saturna. Wonderful northwest sparkle-pop shoegaze that calls out to all the right bands, past and present. Hear Ride, Chapterhouse, BRMC, JAMC, and on and beyond. Unfortunately only five songs, this EP-like release hits all the right notes, letting you float off in dream pop and then turning to shake you up and get you throw bottles against the wall in an angry fuzzed out distortion dirty mood. This band manages to achieve a balance, tightrope style, throwing Psycho Candies out to the listener but also seducing them with sweet Milk and Kisses. Gutterbliss that layers perfectly against the starlight of sound. - Marcel Feldmar

Saturna are a space-rock trio from Portland, Oregon. Unless you live in the Pacific Northwest or have made the pilgrimage to the Shoegazer�s Ball it is unlikely you have had a chance to see or hear them. All Night, their new EP, is an accomplished record that portents to wider exposure for this promising band. Fans of their first release, the Gamma Ray Afterglow single, will find this new release to have been well worth the wait.

The song-building is remarkably sure as they patiently wait to pull all the stops out till they�ve got you right where they want you. The first song, Springboard, features understated, dissonant coils of space guitar effects and reverb laden vocal harmonies that would make Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Frazier proud. If Ride and Slowdive got together to make a record it would sound like this. Hazy, gauzy, atmospheric, or as Spiritualized� once said, �Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space.�

The balance of lush harmonies, ambient interludes, straight up rockers and subtle washes and waves of guitar noise is just right, reflecting an uncanny musical intelligence and discipline. Even the vocals, as good as they are, are not allowed to dominate at any point. Instead the vocals are an equal part, with the other instruments, of the ensemble, creating an organic fabric of sound that is somehow both constant and incredibly varied.

The arrangements are intelligently and intricately done, making each song unique from the others and demonstrating the impressive range of skills this band possesses. On All Night this band shows the ability to do so many things well, from creating evocative moods and atmospheres in their soundscapes to vocal harmonies that are achingly beautiful. Their songs utilize effects and techniques of great shoegazer bands before them, but each track is somehow both composed and spontaneous.

Saturna is, Steve Anderson, Ryan Carroll, and Eric Block. Call it shoegazer, call it dream pop, call it space-rock. These guys know exactly what they�re doing on this record. The result is five tracks that take you to bliss-rock places you�ll want to return to again and again. -- Thomas Bell

http://www.thespacelab.tv/spaceLAB/2006/08August/MusicReview-02-Saturna.htm - Thomas Bell

Portland, Oregon three-piece Saturna are here to fill the hole left by a dearth of spacey, slick American rock, with only an underwhelming Secret Machines album surfacing this year. Their 5-track EP �All Night� is dense and aesthetically beautiful work, each track featuring multiple layers of fine guitar work. It gives each of the tracks a distinctive shoeglaze, despite their varying influences and styles. Most successful of their experiments are the more understated tracks, like the gorgeous instrumental opener 'Springboard', which climaxes in a glorious explosion of noise worthy of Mogwai. Clearly choosing to bookend the EP with their finest sonic explorations, closer 'Chasing The Unpredictable' reprises the quiet-loud formula, this time in the form of a subtle but powerful ballad, unleashing their true potential.

Sandwiched between these are the band's poppier songs, with 'Pop Rocks' finding the band demonstrating their ability to write a catchy, radio-friendly chorus, and the sublime 'Blanket Of Stars' burning slowly but dramatically into a solo-laden epic. 'Blanket Of Guitars' might have been a more apt title given its beautiful production. The EP's only slight weakness is 'Just For Thrills' which, despite an authentic Courtney Taylor-Taylor impression, doesn't quite hit the mark like the EP's other, subtler songs. It does still, however, have the same impressive production and booming guitars which will no doubt become their trademark. If these songs are an indication of what Saturna can do now, I'm just waiting to see what else they have up their sleeves. -- Mike Mantin

http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=1128&type=Demos
- Mike Mantin

Following its summer 2006 release, "All Night," the Portland/Seattle indie rock band Saturna has released another disc of promising, solidly-produced music. "Some Delicious Enemy" starts with a giant, My Bloody Valentine-like juggernaut, "Roll Down," featuring sweeps of electronic noises, a muscular bassline and catchy refrain from singer Ryan Carroll, who sings in a floaty doubled vocal, "This time I'm alive, on my way, a thousand miles away." And the band keeps it big throughout the disc, with chugging drums and atmospheric sounds sandwiching catchy rock and vocals in between. Electronica-infused alternative rock influences seem to abound here, from the industrial beats of Filter and Nine Inch Nails to the ethereal melodies of Stereolab, but Saturna's four members are obviously committed to commanding their own identity, and "Some Delicious Enemy" maybe their big break. - Ben Johnson

If you’re a fan of shoegazery pop, make a point to pick up Saturna’s debut album, “Some Delicious Enemy,� and catch the band at the record- release show tonight. Fans of the Dandy Warhols and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, take note: This is a band for which you probably will fall head over heels. Whether floating through Ride and Chapterhouse territory on numbers like “Roll Down� and “Periwinkle� or pounding out the driving, dangerous Jesus and Mary Chain-inspired “Pop Rocks,� Saturna has mastered hazy psychedelic pop in all its mesmerizing incarnations. Familiar but still fresh, “Some Delicious Enemy� is a record you’ll find yourself reaching for repeatedly.
(Barbara Mitchell) - Barbara Mitchell

Hooray! Hawkwind lives! Well, okay… maybe not THE Hawkwind, meaning those wacked-out space rockers from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. You remember them, right? Their psychedelic soirees provided a heady soundtrack to accompany lysergic indulgence. Well, no matter; suffice it to say Saturna could be their alien offspring. With ten songs that blend a cosmic crunch with the whoosh of a celestial swirl, Saturna takes their flights of fantasy into interstellar overdrive. Some Delicious Enemy is all about ambiance and twitchy effects, with drummer Matt Badger providing the surge that drives these songs skyward. Singer/guitarist Ryan Carroll’s hushed, understated vocals and the capable efforts of multi-instrumentalist Steve Anderson and lead guitarist Eric Block help fulfill the band’s extraterrestrial designs. Yet, despite their velocity, these songs don’t seem to actually end up anywhere other than a muddled void. Although “Chasing the Unpredictable� and “Pop Rocks� ease up on the intensity, any hint of melody seems in short supply. So prepare for blast off… you’re about to get lost in space.
- Lee Zimmerman

This Portland quartet's debut album is a collection of psychedelic songs that places the band among the current groundswell of bands influenced by the Creation Records/shoegaze sound. They may be using a lot of talking points from similar-minded Northwest bands like The Dandy Warhols, The High Violets, Voyager One and The Upsidedown, but they use them to good effect so it's hard to be mad at them. So what if the vocal harmonies on "Roll Down" and "Much More" sound like they were picked up from the studio floor after the sessions for 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia (and the presence of Dandy's producer Tony Lash only serves to further the comparisons)? Saturna spins them into their own well crafted sugary pop songs laced in multiple layers of guitar effects a la The Jesus and Mary Chain (another big influence). Despite the obvious nods there are still some unexpected twists and turns on Some Delicious Enemy, like the sudden foray into big-beat electronica at the end of "Fall", or the glammy swagger on "Just For Thrills" and "Pop Rocks". Although they haven't fully found their own voice yet, Saturna have given space-pop fans a fine way to spend 44 minutes." - David Mansdorf

Saturna continues their journey into shoegaze space with skill and style, and most importantly, a strong sense of past, present and future. Burning through waves of Dandy Warhols melodics and My Bloody Valentine noise, this Portland band comes through the other side spiraling strong and sparkling with a knowledge of their inspirations and the strength to step beyond it all into their own world. Hints of The Verve and Primal Scream slip in and out, but through it all, the sound is becoming strictly Saturna. The moody gaze of tripped-out voyages to the rough rock glam vibrations kick the garage door in and spin it into outer space. It slams like a spaceship car crash into this planet of sound. - Marcel Feldmar

One can detect many influences in Saturna’s new album, Some Delicious Enemy: the songwriting style is reminiscent of Tom Petty, and the songs themselves (at least at first) have a Steppenwolf downbeat feel, with the drums and keys featured prominently in front of a distant guitar. There is a heavy psychedelic rock influence as well as an epic quality more common in the days of Pink Floyd than today. However, Saturna doesn’t simply pay homage to these bands — they take the next evolutionary step, utilizing technology that was not available to the progressive rockers of the ‘70s, mixing in some elecronica and even industrial elements to the mix.

Though a couple of early songs like “Pop Rocks� have an undeniable groove and the already lively “Fall� goes several notches further with a two minute industrial-techno instrumental ending, the album’s energy follows a gradual decline. Its keeps things to a simmer while the tone turns darker and more introverted — though songs like “Chasing the Unpredictable� manage to find beauty in that.

The effect is hypnotic. The album’s steadily deteriorating energy is evident not only in the songwriting but in its execution. Even with songs like “Just for Thrills,� an angry song appearing late on the album, the lyrics aren’t as crisp, and the effects lose their sharpness or disappear entirely. By the end of the CD, even though the songwriting remains relatively upbeat, the energy is gone. Vocalist Ryan Carroll’s voice is barely louder than a whisper, the drums and keys fade away, and all that remains is the distant sound of the guitar. - Bonwell Parker

Saturna’s “Roll Down� could easily be the backdrop for a Target commercial. And the more you try to repel its catchiness, the more you want to hit repeat. But don’t beat yourself up when one of this local quartet’s songs get stuck in your head. Their components—Doves’ bittersweet melodies and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s so-spacey-it’s-almost-British guitar effects—come from good places. - JM