Hail to the Clear Figurines

VINYL FORMAT. Comes with a digital download code! Supposedly named after Vesta, the brightest asteroid in our solar system, the moniker Asteroid #4 is an obvious nod to Spacemen 3, the classic UK band which Philadelphia's Asteroid 4 repeatedly cite as an influence. In fact, one of the group's earliest recorded offerings was an even spacier (if that's possible) version of "Losing Touch With My Mind" on Rocket Girl's tribute compilation to Spacemen 3.

Like the Brian Jonestown Massacre or Philly brethren The Lilys, Asteriod #4 have maintained a few core members but watched countless others come and go. Despite this challenge in continuity, the band has never called it quits. If truth be told, perhaps it has been the near-constant change in personnel over the last decade or so that's made the band what it is today. Their sound, a hypnotic hybrid of several different genres filtered through the kaleidoscope of all things psych, krautrock, shoegaze, folk and even 70s "cosmic" country rock, has matured them to the point of originality rather than simply homage.

Hail to the Clear Figurines is a record that again has hit the reset button on the band's aesthetic. The songs pay special attention to detail through accents of instrumentation ranging from harp to horn sections. One can also hear an almost Baroque sensibility to the overall sound reminiscent of 60's luminaries, Arthur Lee & Love, the Left Banke and even the Association. This could easily be considered the group's most accomplished effort in song writing and orchestration, with all of A4's tendencies intact, including the required dose of heavy reverb and psychedelia.