Superstitions Of The Sky

Absolutely Nothing (2003)

Jordan Rogowski

I'm pretty sure the first time I heard this band was on a One Day Savior sampler that I had picked up at Hellfest. The sampler itself was pretty forgettable, but one song did stick out for me. That song was "Who Needs Pennsylvania Anyway?," a very solid acoustic track.

So I decided to do a bit of research, and was able to find out that Superstitions Of The Sky is a two-piece acoustic set featuring Vadim of This Day Forward and Josh of Hot Cross. Not exactly the two most likely candidates for mellow acoustic music, but it works. Turns out they had already released an album on Robotic Empire titled Things Said In Passing. I wasn't able to hunt down a copy of that until much after I got this album, so we'll forget about it. The album wasn't set to release until a few months later, so I got it as soon as it came out.

Disappointed isn't a great word here, slighty let down maybe? Don't get me wrong -- this is a solid album, but after hearing only that one song I was expecting more from this.

The album starts off very well with one of the standout tracks, "Tonight." Now, Josh only sings background once in a great while on Hot Cross records, so I wasn't sure how well he would hold up on an album essentially sang by himself. And as this song would have you think, quite well actually. The next song, "Oh, Those Eyes" is also a standout track; one of my favorites, actually. Josh does have quite a range to his voice, and a real honest, authentic quality to it. Lyrically is where this album falters first. It's just not anything worth raving about. It's pretty standard fare, and is actually pretty dry. Not horrible, but nothing I'm going to sit here and praise.

"Dove Song" continues the collection of excellent songs on this album, and for a time, that's where it stops. "Burning Bridges," "Building Music," "Things Said In Passing," and "We Accept The Love We Think We Deserve" are pretty forgettable, and unfortunately so. Just as you think things are really picking up with "Dove Song," the next four are just…boring, as best as I can put it. You can listen to them all the way through without wanting to turn it off, but compared to the first three tracks, they really are a let down. Worst of all is the inclusion of electric guitar. This album would be so much better for me if it was entirely acoustic, as the first album was. Electric guitar is in fact present on most songs in the album, but "Things Said In Passing" is where it's most apparent. There's some nice inclusions of piano, violin, and bells throughout this album, but the electric guitar is wholly unecessary.

Worst however is the last song on the album, "'Feathers And Knives." This is done with a full band, bass and drums included, and just doesn't fit in with the overall mood and somber tone of the album. I really, really could have done without this song.

As I was to later find out, the first album showed so much promise, and it's just not realized here. These guys could release some amazing stuff, and if you want my honest opinion, and you do, since you're still reading, pick up their first album Things Said In Passing if you're lucky enough to find it. This is absolutely worth a listen, and I still do dust this off from time to time, unfortunately it's only for half the record. It's definitely listenable, and enjoyable the entire way through, but had they kept it entirely acoustic, and tweaked a few minor items, so much more could have been done.