Aloha – Sugar

This album takes me back to a time when I was first sort of thrust into all the indie underground stuff. Granted, in middle school i got into the hardcore that was going on in Syracuse and through that found about about other hardcore bands. High school brought more post hardcore DC type stuff into what i was listening to. I also got more into 90’s alternative rock stuff. But after high school was when I started to really get into indie rock and what had been and was going on to my oblivious mind. Aloha was one of the many bands I found in that time that opened me up to different ideas musically. Aloha set the standard for the sort of jazz/post rock influenced indie rock band. They weren't Tortoise. There is enough of a pop sensibility to their songs that there is the chance for a crossover to someone that is not hip to post rock or anything like that. The vocals play just as important of a role as the vibraphone does. Which is often not the case with post rock bands. Considering a large portion of them are instrumental. This record start to finish is set up to sort of just move all together. Seamless transitions between songs make it seem like it is one long song.  And to view it like that, would be a bit much. I mean, there is ALOT going on with this record. There are all sorts of ideas. Whether they be lyrical, musical or whatever else. Sometimes, I have to admit, that it can become a bit much if you don't know what you are getting into. Thick layers of all sorts of sounds. Keyboards, Percussion, Sounds, Vibraphone, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Etc. Sometimes it seems like the songs come to the brink of falling apart into some sort of noisy collapse. But they find their way back every time. I’m not trying to scare anyone away. This record is fucking great. It has some amazing moments. Some beautiful musical movements. Some outrageous drumming. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, a drummer really makes a band in a lot of ways.  At least for certain kinds of music. The album is always interesting. Mathy. Ambient. Technical. Music at its best in a lot of ways. I don't know if this is really Aloha’s best album. I just know its the one I’ve listened to the most over time and have grown most attached to. Songs like “They See Rocks”, “Let Your Head Hang Low”, “Balling Phase”, “Protest Song” and “We Get Down” seal it for me. Okay, I just named like, half the album. haha. I don't care. That just shows how awesome this record is. If you are into post rock influenced indie rock, or indie rock influenced post rock, listen. Experimental music? listen. I think even my hippie coworker could dig this record. haha.
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