The Asteroid No. 4 – These Flowers of Ours

What is it with American bands and their love of early 90's British music. Last month All The Saints breezed into town, sounding melodiously similar to the likes of Loop and Thee Hypnotics, so much so that I had to check I hadn't fallen asleep with an old copy of Lime Lizard over my face. Not that I'm complaining for a second, as at that period in musical history I was very happily part of that crowd, moodily swaying my head from side to side like a polar bear in a French zoo. The Asteroid No 4 come from Philadelphia, and have been recording and touring since the late 90's. They claim to have dabbled in everything from Anglo-induced pop (very much in evidence on this album) to the sound of vintage LA country rock outfits. And so they are frighteningly similar to the glut of experimental and noisy musicians who hailed from the home counties when Noel's House Party was a must-see, lurking on the edge of shoegaze when the rest of the nation were going baggy, waving glo-sticks in their sweaty fists.Here we have an album that if sliced up into a pie chart would come out as 40% Ride, 40% Spiritualized and 20% Sounds of the Sixties, with a raw, retro recording style relying heavily (and I mean very heavily) on the reverb. Sometimes the music is a little bit swamped in this drenching echo, penultimate track 'All Fall Down' a literal soaking of mushy drums and guitar. But as a period piece, you have to admire their attention to detail, and their ability to craft reasonably good songs.'Let It Go' is a belter, all spattering drums and shining cymbals cut with a spacious guitar hum. 'I Look Around' is also a treat, a glorious slice of indie pop that leads nicely into 'She's All I Need', an epic song that builds into relaxed effortless spurts. Some songs are overly ponderous, 'Hold On' taking an age to get going, as does 'War' which drags at a painfully slow pace. But on the whole this is a reasonable collection, that owes a huge debt to the little shiny island I am currently sitting on. 58%The Asteroid No 4 on MySpace