Song of the Day - October 9, 2006

I had never heard of The Asteroid No. 4 until very recently. I was surprised to find out that this Philadelphia based band has been around for ten years. With the release of An Amazing Dream, The Asteroid No. 4 have a total of four albums. They specialize in a brand of psychedelic pop that could have come straight out of the 60's. With a sound that at times reminds me of The Byrds, I find the album grows on me with repeated listens. In particular, I found the vocal harmonies very appealing. One of the best tracks that takes advantage of their great vocal harmonies is "Ask Me About Pittsburgh." The song is basically of a bipolar nature, in that the first half is a more traditional song, albeit in a psychedelic mode, while the second half features a more Syd Barrett influenced sound that sounds as if it was recorded at some great distance, perhaps in a cave. The song ends with a growing distorted rumble, that I believe is supposed to represent a train. Click here to listen.