SHREDnews

By: Kayley Guyette

I spent my summer in the year 2007 going to Astrea shows. It felt odd going two weeks without going to a show. Tour kick off show for the summer tour with Select Start, I was there. Homecoming show from that tour, I was there. Them playing Warped Tour, yep I was there. I have a collection of pictures of myself with Brendon. I would get excited seeing them take the stage at The Living Room, The ICC or whatever venue they were playing. I got more excited seeing them live nearly every other week then I did seeing Fall Out Boy every once and awhile. Yet Astrea called it quits/went on hiatus not too long after this great summer. I miss seeing them and I love their music.

So while the band isn’t together anymore, I say this album is worth knowing about none the less. Catch me randomly on the street and I know the lyrics and you should too. Coming from the small town of Franklin Massachusetts (the next town over from my hometown) Astrea will remain one of my favorite bands of all time. This is my review of their album Departure.

Over Your Head is the first track on the album and it’s a perfect first track. The intro to the song makes me wish I learned to play guitar just so I could play it. The lyrics are well written and easy for you to relate to. Brendon Pires, the lead singer, goes a great job singing, you can feel the emotion of the song.

Second track is Between The Tides and well the beginning I would describe as pretty. In a way it makes me feel like this song would be feature on the Twilight sound track. The song starts off dark and depressing, like you’re losing yourself to the tide. But then it picks up and you feel like fighting, fighting to remain alive, fighting the tides.

Hourglass is well written, musically and lyrically. The music fits the lyrics and the presentation is fantastic. My favorite part is at 48 seconds in when the drummer, Ricky Tonzi, hits on the kick drum and Brendon raises his voice. The whole song picks up at this point, just to crash down and pick back up again. It’s the song that moshers are thankful for because they can take a breath and dive back into the pit.

Love Is War is my favorite song to hear off the album and to see live. Musically and lyrically I love it. The lyrics are something everyone can relate to. It was my song of choice to put on repeat after a break up. It’s sad, angry and hopeful all at once.  But live its fantastic, the crowd goes wild the second the intro guitar rift is played. I’ve walked away from sets with bruises souly because of this song and I loved every minute of it.

Shadows is the closing track for Departures. In my opinion this is the most different track on the album. It allows the band to stick out from all their other songs and show case their talent.  And if I do remember correctly the crowd loved every second of this song.

Astrea’s CD is still for sale on SmartPunk and it is worth the $6. But be warned once you listen you’re going to want to hear more. It’s about two years since they’ve called it quits and I’m still hopefully to hear more. If you like them, then tell them.

Rating: 10/10
Top Tracks: Over Your Head, Love Is War
For Fans Of: Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is, Lannen Fall
Track Listing:

1. Over Your Head
2.  Between The Tides
3. Hourglass
4.  Love Is War
5. Shadows

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