Music Review - Uk Music Review Home

Intro / Turnaround / Amend / I Still Feel / Place To Call Your Own / Disappearing Act / Walkaway / Inasmuch / Dopamine Lost / Get Me Out / Sisyphus / Last / Star Crossed

ONLINEROCK RECORDS
OLR402
Produced by Autumndivers and Chris Dibenedillo

RELEASED>August 1st 2005

Despite its opening squall of avant garde jazz meandering and space rock experimentalism, Autumndivers second album is a much more focused and structured affair than you may expect. As the polite indie rock of TURNAROUND attests to, this is a band that blend jangly guitar loveliness with laid back vocals in a hazy groove that's equal parts Coldplay, Spiritualized and Joy Zipper. The dub-reggae influence that run through AMEND may be slight, but it's one of those little touches that lifts a song from the average to the more interesting and far reaching. With it's deep burrowing bassline and gentle guitar stabs, Autumndivers weave something sublime and magical with Gregory Paul evoking pure emotion through his vocals. I STILL FEEL finds the band settling into more traditional territory, hitting the sweeping choruses with military precision and generally coming on like a looser version of Coldplay while the acoustic based PLACE TO CALL YOUR HOME sees things reaching an emotional high, a heartbroken slice of introspection that'll soundtrack a thousand broken hearts.

The stuttering beats of DISAPPEARING ACT may form the backbone, but its the shimmering guitar work that really stands out - a delay heavy attack that equals U2s The Edge at his best, while Gregory Paul sings in a style not a million miles away from New Orders' Bernard Sumner, all in all a winning combination. WALKAWAY repeats the same tricks, although healthy doses of rising guitar crescendos and hypnotic vocals ensure things never feel stagnant or predictable, something the atmospheric INASMUCH also avoids deftly. Chiming guitar work bleeds over a skeletal drumbeat in much the same direction as Radiohead have been heading over their last couple of albums, and like Radiohead this is a sublime collision of the strange and the beautiful, the vocals soaring in all the right places while also knowing when to keep things restrained and under control.
The equally atmospheric sounds of GET ME OUT revisit similar highs, although if anything with even more impressive results - and as this has echoes of Coldplays latest album in its subtlety and epic scope, the future bodes extremely well for Autumndivers. As the epic album closer STARCROSSED clocks in at an excessive seventeen and a half minutes, the sheer scope and ambition of Autumndivers starts to really manifest itself. Part scorching guitar excursion, part introspective ballad - this is the sound of a band stretching themselves to the limits of what they can achieve, and as they mutate into a glorious collision between Radiohead, Spiritualized, Mogwai, Sigur Ros and Sun Ra the sound that surrounds you is a glorious reminder of what can happen when a band gets together and lets things truly flow.
Beautiful, mesmerising and enchanting AUTUMNDIVERS is an album that has a consistency and conviction that is breathtaking, sometimes anthemic and direct, sometimes dreamy and epic, the songs here bristle with atmosphere and emotion.
Autumndivers are a band that deserve your love and attention, and this is a record that's sure to turn a lot of heads their way.

Underground musicians for the past 15 years, guitarist and vocalist Gregory Paul and drummer Aaron Boucher have surfaced with the help of bassist Tony Wensel to form the Autumndivers. The Rochester New York based trio have been favorites on the East Coast for years, but now they're making waves around the country, where they've released two records with San Francisco-area OnlineRock Records, and played tour dates from Boston to San Diego.
The band's second full length album was released last year to great fanfare, the follow up to their 2002 debut, Spirit And Decibels. The album showcases the evolving songwriting talent of Paul and the musical craft of the entire band. The Autumndivers' sound has emerged over the years to deftly weave melodic threads that signal influences ranging from dream pop to dub-reggae; space rock to improvised walls of sound. It's also grown edgier and more experimental, as evidenced by a number of tracks on the new album, three of which are produced by Chris DiBeneditto.
Rockpile, Amplifier and CMJ magazines have all given the Autumndivers' new CD glowing reviews. And, in addition to being included on the CMJ's New Music Monthly August 2004 CD compilation, the band was featured during their radio program On The Verge. The Autumndivers were invited to perform at both NEMO in Boston and CMJ's Music Marathon in New York City last fall.
NBC has tapped four tracks from the Autumndivers' latest release for use in the 2004 Olympics. The BBC's Animal Camera and MTV's Made have also licensed the band's music. National Public Radio featured Amend from the new CD on All Songs Considered this May 2005.
The Autumndivers' success is largely due to the unique chemistry among band members. Paul and Boucher have been honing their musicianship together for many years, originally in the early 90's experimental rock outfit Stillmotion and then in 1998 as a duo called the Gregory Paul Group. In
2001 Wensel joined the band and the group became the Autumndivers - a reference to pickpockets of 19th century New York City. A year later the band was selected to perform at the NACA South Regional Conference, an experience that ultimately led to new gigs at college campuses and clubs throughout the country. Soon, the Autumndivers' rising popularity helped I Still Feel from their latest release finish in the top 100 songs of 2004 on New York's WBER play list.
And the band's future is in good hands now that they've landed a record and management deal with OnlineRock Records, an offshoot of OnlineRock.com, which provides Web-based services to more than 20,000 bands and musicians.
The Autumndivers are the first band to sign to OnlineRock Records, a label with the ability to propel their music to a vast legion of music fans throughout cyberspace.

   :: Line Up :: Discography :: Merchandise :: Further Listening :: Web Links ::

AUTUMNDIVERS
(2005>OnlineRock Records)
Intro
Turnaround
Amend
I Still Feel
Place To Call Your Own
Disappearing Act
Walkaway
Inasmuch
Dopamine Lost
Get Me Out
Sisyphus
Last
Star Crossed

Email>alan@ukbands.net

LINKS
Autumndivers>
OnlineRock Records>


Radiohead>Hail To The Thief (2003>Parlophone)
Coldplay>X&Y (2005>Parlophone)
Spiritualized>Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Spiritualized>(1997>Dedicated)

Review date: August 2005