Posted on: February 13, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

The slow sound that starts out Asono’s EP , specifically the track “Street Full of Strangers”, does not lend itself well to any existing musical genre. The band is in the rock genre, but the emotional guitar work is much more reminiscent of a late eighties style. There are hints of Big Mountain and The Psychedelic Furs, even as Asono attempts to take up the standard of the current emo movement.

What results during the entirety of “Street Full of Stranger” is something that would sound perfect in the early nineties, but does not sound completely fitting in the current period. The instrumentation on the track sounds a little tinny while the vocals sound a little too bassy. This is not a major issue, but does detract from the enjoyment individuals can draw from the beginning segment of this EP. The punchy opening to “She Loves L.A.” gives the instrumentation the bassy shot in the arm necessary to combat the claims made against Asono during the first track of the disc. The song starts off slow before entering into a high-energy, more-current type of rock sound. This brings Asono into a style that blends Voltaire with the rest of the current rock bands on the market.

While the track has its catchy elements, Asono still seems to be finding their feet and attempting to create the one track that will put their name in lights. The guitars present during “One Man Army” give the band a much-needed hook-laden guitar line, but the under-stated instrumentation during the pre-chorus parts of the saong seem to reduce the band’s momentum. This hamstrings the band again, but the chorus is where the band needs to go in regards to a catchy, fun, and recollectable type of chorus. There is no doubting that Asono has a decent amount of talent, but for each of the six cuts on this EP, there seems to be something missing that reduces the enjoyment that one can draw from the song. I am confident that they will be able to listen to this disc a few months after releasing it, and will begin to see where they can improvement. Kudos has to go out to the band for including a late-era Warrant (“Dog Eat Dog”) style to their “O.D’D On Love”. Keep checking out the band’s website for new songs and hopefully everything will click for the act, allowing them to move forward with their next album.

Top Track: Someday

Rating: 5.1/10

[JMcQ]

Asono – S/T / 2006 Fishface / 6 Tracks / http://www.asonoband.com / Reviewed 03 March 2007

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