Under The Asbury

Asbury
Genre: Indie / Experimental / Shoegaze
From: Los Angeles, California
United States

I love this job especially when something comes out of the blue and knocks you sidewards, something like LA's Asbury. Their weird and wonderfully out of kilter album 'Under The Asbury' mixes disturbing spooky little psychedelic gems with blasting foot stompers like no album I've heard since Teardrop Explodes seminal 'Kilimanjaro' album in the early 80s. It's a bona fide underground classic.

Take the off-beam, and wonderfully titled, 'He's Gone Fetal', a Kafkaesque Parisian blend of The Beach Boys, Scott Walker and The Cure for example. Or maybe the epic 'Designs' which packs more ideas in 5 minutes than a box set of Radiohead albums. There's the quietly pastoral 'Who Turned Up The Voltage! which is a 21st Century take on the Incredible String Band and the piano lead, anti-war 'Where Would We Be Without Cruelty' which is like Paul Hardcastle's '19' being interpreted by Super Furry Animals. I could go on but you'll get a better idea of how good the album is by tripping over to the bands website where you can stream all 11 tracks off the album.

The tracks on the bands myspace site that didn't make the album are just as good, if not better. There's the sensually wistful Doorsian stomp of 'Grey Gardens' with singer DF giving his best Lizard King impression (tonight Matthew I'm going to be Jim Morrison) or the beautiful breeze of gentle neo psychedelia 'From My Cubicle I Control The World' that sounds like it's been swimming in the Mersey alongside Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunnymen and the largely forgotten but magnificent The Turquiouse Swimming Pools (check out the video of the beautifully haunting Burst Balloons below).

It's rare in these days of homogenous indie to hear something that sounds truly startling, original and exciting so cherish 'Under The Asbury' because it'll probably be another 20 years before it happens again.

Go Try

MP3 - Asbury - He's Gone Fetal
MP3 - Asbury - Designs
If anyone from the IFPI is reading these tracks are published with permission from Asbury so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Asbury - Myspace // Website

Go View

Asbury
Covered In Acrylic




For those of you who have never experience the obscure genius of Liverpool's Turquoise Swimming Pools check out the video below...

The Turquoise Swimming Pools
Burst Balloons