Astronauts of Antiquity – Rocket Science for Dummies

As is typical of any college town, Chapel Hill, North Carolina is a breeding ground for music of many genres with varying levels of quality. The latter issue seems to factor directly into the bands’ staying power, as fickle audiences are effectively a form of natural selection. Astronauts of Antiquity have survived the better part of four years, which indicates that they have found their niche and garnered some positive attention along the way. The release of Rocket Science for Dummies marks an interesting transition for the band, as it shows them adopting even more elements into a sonic pallette that was diverse to begin with. But albums that show a high degree of eclecticism tend to prompt questions regarding songwriting and memorability. There is usually little (if any) middle ground; either the myriad influences fit and create a sense of cohesion, or they come off sounding like a bad case of multiple personality disorder.

In this way, Rocket Science for Dummies succeeds. The roughly half of its thirteen tracks weave a consistent mix of trance, dub, pop, and R&B that prove to be more accessible than confounding. On songs such as “Emo Healing” and “Breakthrough”, AoA stays on task by maintaining a steady funk/R&B flavor with light pop overtones to provide an interesting sense of levity. Other tracks (e.g. “Miss Caroline”) lean toward classic soul with earthy, yet ethereal vocal performances that evoke visions of a smoky bar in some alternate dimension. Then there are songs such as “Beautiful Fate” which shrug off convention with odd rhythms and uncommonly tight musicianship.

Unfortunately, there is a flip side to all of this. While Rocket Science… impresses on some levels, it falls short on several others. It just seems that for each of its stand-out tracks, there is always a corresponding song that takes AoA’s breadth of influences in the wrong direction. “Supa Soul” and “Sweet-Tooth” are prime examples, as neither shows much in the way of focus or clarity. In fact, there is a certain “scattershot” mentality about these tracks that essentially disrupts the album’s momentum. Compounding the problem is the middle-of-the-road quality of the remaining cuts, which seem to be treading somewhere north of “dismal” but decidedly south of “worthwhile”.

In the end, Astronauts of Antiquity may have better things ahead of them. It’s still early in the game, and they have yet to paint themselves into a corner. Their talent and diversity will allow them to head in any direction they wish, without the repercussions or backlash that prohibit less versatile bands. They already possess the finely-honed chops and an accomplished female singer, so a bit of focus and distinction will likely go a long way.

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Tagged as: Chapel Hill, Jazz, North Carolina, trance

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