- Released: 2020
- Origin: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Label: Little Cloud/Cardinal Fuzz
- Best Track: I Don’t Care
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of The Asteroid No. 4 before, even though according to Discogs, they’ve just released their 11th album.
Northern Songs is a deeply enjoyable collection of shoegazy psychedelic nuggets. I like the Teenage Fanclub-like twee-pop tracks like ‘Northern Song’ in particular – this one reminds me of The Byrds’ ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ actually, though it gets a Guided By Voices lo-fi slant as it goes along. It’s between that and the similar ‘I Don’t Care’ for my favourite track, and I’ve gone for the latter as it sounds a little more fresh and original.
‘Paint It Green’ is like a satisfying marriage of Bowie and the Lightning Seeds, and despite one of two skippable tracks (‘The After Glow’ is a bit of a dull closer), The Asteroid No. 4 sound like what they are on this record – an experienced band who know what they’re doing, and can meld an original and accomplished sound through a range of influences.
