Respira
This Is Not What You Had Planned (2004)
Scott Heisel
Grey Flight Records returns to the fold with this, a 5-song EP from Thousand Oaks, CA quartet Respira. Recorded by the famed J. Robbins, Respira delivers a good 25 minutes of brooding-yet-hooky indie rock, with an emphasis on the rock.
The band's sound owes as much to Superdrag for it's vocal melodies [see "The Least Self-Destructive Self-Destructive Thing You Could Do"] as it does to Engine Down for it's pulsating, hypnotic rhythms [see "Over And Out"]. The band makes good use of slightly odd time signatures and song structures to put a more quirky emphasis on their songs which makes you pay attention more. While the amps are turned up to eleven for the most part on this EP, the band isn't afraid to experiment with some more unusual sounds like bells, accordian, and rhodes organ. J. Robbins takes all these elements and fuses them together perfectly.
Respira should make some waves with this new EP, as there isn't really a weak track out of the 5. The energy is consistent throughout [which is impressive since most of the songs crack the five-minute mark], and there's enough of a pop presence to make you want to listen again and again. Grey Flight has a winner on their hands.
MP3
Delicate Killer