FAR FROM REFUGE

God is an Astronaut's third album definitely leans to the "rock" side of post-rock. This is not to say that they have completely abandoned their classic spacey sound. The drums seem to be more prominent and the guitar has more of a voice as well, yet they never resort to the generic power chords to get their point across.

Two personal favorites of mine are the title track and Grace Descending. The former starts off in the traditional GIAA format but its surprise comes at the end when it unexpectedly uses a distorted guitar for rhythm. While this is unexpected, it is a delightful surprise. Grace Descending starts off with a piano riff that continues to build into a great climax. All the other songs on here are fantastic as well. Songs such as Tempus Horizon, New Year's End and Beyond the Dying Light showcase the style GIAA is well-known for. Radau and Sunrise in Aries have a slight 90's rock feel to them. A unique little surprise comes in the transitional song Lateral Noise. Essentially, the song is mostly strange electronic noises yet at the end, the song gives a very apocalyptic feeling not out of place of The End of the Beginning.

This album is good for getting people into the group should they be interested (as well as AIV, AIB). However, if one does not like this group, this album is not going to change their mind.