review by: Laurent Martini

Imagine that you took the best of the Pixies and mixed it with what you loved best about Smashing Pumpkins. Would you like that? Then you’ll love Aerogramme, or should I say you’ll love the first two songs off of Sleep and Release. Afterwards, it’s a different story.

“Indiscretion #243" and “Black Path” are the best opening songs I’ve heard to an album since James’ Please to Meet You. They are incredible musical gems sounding like the offshoot of the Pixies’ “Debaser” and Pumpkins’ “Disharm.” How could such a great beginning go so wrong? And what’s up with the label Matador? This is the exact same thing that happened with Interpol’s album.

The rest of Sleep and Release is so disappointing it hurts. “A Simple Process” is slow and lacks originality. “Older” and “Not Really” are indiscernible from a thousand other angsty anthems, and “Yes” is just plain bad. The only worthwhile song near the end is “In Gratitude,” and that’s mostly because one’s been listening to crap for the past 20 minutes.

This inconsistency would usually make me give the band a bad review but here I feel cheated and frustrated because of the absolute greatness of the opening tracks. It seems that Aerogramme might be trying to do too much, mixing in too many influences thus causing the output to greatly suffer. The band needs to choose which road it wants to travel; the Pixies (yes, yes, yes) or the “I am a very deep and angry white male” (no, no, no!!!!!) (5.5/10)

review by: Larissa Parson

While perhaps some of the tracks on Aereogramme’s latest are unoriginal, there is something to be said for the beauty of a formula. Take, for example, “A Simple Process of Elimination,” which fits nicely into the niche recently popularized by such current luminaries as Sigur Rós, with a bit of Mogwai thrown in for good measure. There’s nothing wrong with slowing down every now and then to savor the sounds you can make with a guitar. At full volume in a two-ton metal box on the road, this album is transcendent.

For what it’s worth, “Older” does start out like any old angst-ridden tune, but quickly puts brakes on the tempo, leading into another soundscape. Lyrically, perhaps, it is lacking, but we all have those “emo” days. I will admit that “No Really Everything’s Fine” and “Wood” are fairly pedestrian. That’s what the skip button is made for. The last three tracks on the album, however, are worth waiting for. “A Winter’s Dischord,” an acoustic piece, and “—“ end the album as peacefully as it began loud, but not without making a brief foray into loudness. (7.5/10)