God is an Astronaut - Cork Independent News

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God is an Astronaut

Written by Staff Reporter

Thursday, 16 October 2008

Instrumental Dublin trio God is an Astronaut return to Cork to play Cyprus Avenue on Friday, October 17 for another bout of triumphant post-rock bravado. Now firmly established on these shores as one of the most eminent and popular instrumental rock acts (alongside fellow Dub's Redneck Manifesto), God Is An Astronaut have set about taking their 'full audio visual show' on the road – including many fruitful trips to Europe where the group are said to have found a devoted fan-base.

Their 2008 tour of the states was rather less successful, though not through any fault of the band or their music – the story goes that on the day they were set to return home, $20,000 worth of equipment was stolen from their van in New Jersey. Their equipment was not insured and a tour that had reportedly already cost the band $20,000 to organize had suddenly doubled in cost. Ouch! But that hasn't stopped the band from soldiering on. For the uninitiated God Is An Astronaut's music evokes the dark, textural layerings of Disintegration era Cure coupled with that by-now familiar post-rock format of slow-burning dynamics, quiet lulls and jarring crescendos, all of which is aided and abetted by synced-up visuals.

The bands evolution has taken place for all to hear on record, their trajectory seemingly mapped out, from their initial beginnings as a lo-fi, production orientated outfit, documented on their debut EP, The End of The Beginning, through to their first full length, the electronic post-rock bombast of All is Violent, All is Bright, on to their 2006 EP, the more subdued come-down ambient effort that is Moment of Stillness, and right up to their most recent album 2007s patient and slow-building Far From Refuge.

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