God Is An Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright (2005)

Okay, for my first entry, we have God Is An Astronaut (GIAA) from Ireland.

For those who are new to these guys, God is an Astronaut is a three piece band from Ireland. They play instrumental post-rock and "All is Violent, All is Bright" is their second full length album, released in 2005. What makes it so good? Read on...

First thing is the name itself, God is an Astronaut. Named after the ancient astronauts myths/legends, they are pretty thought provoking both in their musical direction and the titles of the "songs". GIAA is made up of Torsten Kinsella (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Niels Kinsella (bass, guitars, visuals) and Lloyd Hanney (drums, synthesiser). Yeah, the first two guys are siblings and don't be surprised by the "vocals" tag to Torsten Kinsella. If you watch any of their live videos, you'll find that the front man actually plays guitar, manages the keyboards and sings/hums the organ sounding stuff in most of the tracks. Pretty amazing if you ask me, because I always thought it was just a keyboard track until I saw their videos. The bassist and the drummer are just as good, if nothing else. And accompanying the tracks are awesome visuals that add to the entire experience.

This is first album I'd heard by them and was completely mesmerized by it. While their previous album and EP's were more inclined to an electronic sound, this album is mostly guitar/keyboard based. The instrumentation in this album is excellent and there are plenty of memorable moments. For instance, the opening guitar riff of the title track, All is Violent, All is Bright latches onto you in such a way that you'll be humming it for days after you've heard it. They create a dreamy, smooth flowing sound that just lifts your spirits up when you need it. There are also some some intense moments in the album, but they never go overboard with it, making sure the listener is captivated through out its entirety.

This album is perfect if you just want to relax after a long day, or in your car on a long drive. And being instrumental means that you can do other stuff like talking to people while this is playing. ;-P Download it or buy it from the GIAA website ASAP. Its totally worth it. Their other albums are worth checking out as well. And if you like, watch this video, it's one of the best I've seen!

Download it.

God is an Astronaut official website.

GIAA MySpace page.

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