GOOD MORNING DYSTOPIA

"We are being watched". This is the theme for the debut album from Germany's Osta Love. I have to admit that it is a theme to which I can't help but relate. The inspired cover art of the figure covered in red will certainly stay with you throughout this album. This three-piece band has crafted an album full of fear and insecurity, but also of release and freedom. It's quite an experience.

Osta Love plays a slower, atmospheric style of prog rock. They mix psychedelic Floydian ambiance with the steeled guitars of Porcupine Tree, subtle drums, and a good dose of their own ideas. Not only is it enjoyable, but "Good Morning Dystopia" is also an album that will grow and grow on the listener. Full of feeling, dark atmosphere, and a subtle outrage, this album matches its style to its message incredibly well. In fact, neither would have been as effective without the other. In a good call, the vocals are also subtle, light, and even a little unfeeling. You see, "Good Morning Dystopia" purveys its feeling through the dark/light and hardened/smooth textures it contains. The vocals, then, seem to act like a counterpoint. The unfeeling style of singing only accentuates the message of surveillance and discomfort with this modern world.

This album starts out with a wonderfully eerie "Prologue", and features not one poor track. In the first half, "Alienation" and "Subway" are both standouts. However, this album really wowed me when it reached "The Guards". The last four tracks, then are perfectly placed, diverse, and incredibly well-written. "The Guards" is a guitar-driven spectacle while "Alaska" is a soft, key-driven ballad that ends in a great instrumental. Then, a psychedelic trip is found in "Shine", and a perfect ending note is "Epilogue". There is such a progression from track to track that you will almost be caught up in it and not realize that there are four tracks here.

While the album centers around the discomfort and insecurity of living in this world, the album ends on a good note. Finding that place of privacy and comfort is an important task, and it will truly allow you to shine. The album, then, is not all dark or brooding, but, again, features great progression of music and ideas.

So, I fully recommend this journey. Osta Love has many great ideas, and an awesome foundation on which to build. To say that I am impressed is an understatement. Brooding and light, atmospheric and grounded, "Good Morning Dystopia" is a fantastic start to Osta Love's career.

4.5 stars