You practice together, you play together, you travel together, you live together
band mates can be like family, and in the case of L.A. based
Astra Heights, they really are. Consisting of a Texan bunch of brothers (plus one honorary brother -
Bernard Yin - on guitar),
Mark, James, Joshua, and
Timothy Morales honed their affinity for lush British traditions while at a university in Houston quite a feet for a band that didnt pick up instruments until they left Palacios Texas for college. Of course, if you spend your whole life absorbing artists like the Beatles, Queen, T Rex, ELO, the Smiths, Oasis, and Blur, sometimes the music comes naturally.
On the bands debut,
Good Problems (
Universal/Republic), Astra Heights channel all the aforementioned, whipping up a firestorm of melody in its many manifestations cuddly McCartneyesque basslines, soaring lead vocals, and hook-minded guitar parts, plus an unfailing sense of clear rhythm so foundational it functions as melodic. This is how both their official bio, and the music they churn out reads.
Pick up
Good Problems now at I-Tunes. If you live in California, Astra Heights have a few dates scheduled, listed below.
Astra Heights Live:
02/20/2008 - Casbah - San Diego, California
02/21/2008 - Glass House - Pomona, California
02/22/2008 - Troubadour - West Hollywood, California
02/29/2008 - The Uptown Lounge - Oakland, California
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Astra Heights @ MySpace