WL//WH New Music The Asteroid No.4
The Asteroid No. 4, photo by Kari Devereaux
Californian psychedelic rock legends The Asteroid No.4 have announced their forthcoming album ‘Northern Songs’, to be released later this summer via a partnership with UK-based Cardinal Fuzz Records and Portland’s Little Cloud Records. Ahead of this, they present their new single ‘The After Glow’. This new release is a clear psychedelic sonic nectar overlaid with washed-out vocal harmonies and topped off with shoegaze drones. It is all a hypnotic hybrid of several different genres filtered through the kaleidoscope of all things psychedelic. Now based in the Bay Area, The Asteroid No.4 originated in Philadelphia in the latter half of the 1990s and gradually began to relocate westwards in 2011. After several lineup changes, for the last decade, the band has been foundationally comprised of Scott Vitt (vocals, guitar), Eric Harms (guitar), Adam Weaver (drums, vocals), and Matty Rhodes (bass, vocals).
Considered stalwarts of the modern ‘psych’ genre, they are known for their prolific discography of reverb-drenched recordings and liquid-projected live performances. Being active since 1995 the band was named after Vesta, the brightest asteroid in our solar system, their moniker is an obvious nod to Spacemen 3, one of the band’s main influences. In fact, one of the group’s earliest recordings was a faithful cover of their ‘Losing Touch with My Mind‘
A little before the release of ‘The After Glow’ single the band also unveiled the title track of the upcoming album. My own thoughts on the style and the quality of the band are simply like this – when you discover a psych band from the west coast then 90% you hit on a vein of gold. Especially when the band comes from San Francisco you’ll most likely listen to roots psychedelia, with all elements pop, rock, and folk in their music! The Asteroid No. 4 have all these ingredients and obviously they play this kind of music from the heart!!!
The band integrates multi-textured guitars and reverb-drenched vocal harmonies over an unwavering rhythm section. Their prolific recording output has earned them a dedicated fan base within the flourishing underground psychedelic scene, with over a dozen compilation appearances, digital-only rarity releases, and multiple singles and EPs. The full album ‘Northern Songs’ will be released later this summer.
Keep up with The Asteroid No.4:
The Asteroid No. 4, photo by Kari Devereaux
Written by Loud Cities’ Mike
