Review by Matt Miller
Another review, another regret, but not for lack of quality in Aeva Disaster’s debut EP, Signals and Skylines. I regret that when I had the chance to see them live in March I took off before their set instead of popping a few ibuprofen and toughing out a developing migraine. Nevertheless, in only six tracks this short-but-exceptionally-sweet collection of moods and melodies challenges screamo/punk boundaries as well as those of rock and roll in general.
After a brief intro that I can only visualize in terms of Grand Theft Auto, “Void@4042N:7400W”—let me just type that again for clarity…and my own amusement—“Void@4042N:7400W” chops out the verses with a clear-cut guitar riff and shouted vocals, making it the probably the most punk rock track on Signals and Skylines. However, the chorus introduces an element of contrast in which the instrumentation repeatedly tumbles down, while the vocal delivery meanders around on the brink of falling itself without repeating the same series of tones.
Go away, but come back soon. I’ll be there to let you out this time gusts into the chorus of “Wind Transmission” a little over a minute into a seemingly straightforward song up to this point. Afterward, listeners glide through periods of melodious singing and alternating guitar work that at times borders on dissonance before being snapped back into harmony with the vocals, which, by the way, carry lyrics that won’t make you grimace like you just swallowed a blue spruce with ornaments on it. In fact, the lyrics throughout the album are some of the best I’ve heard regardless of genre.
Up until “Pure Eden” listeners could have stereotyped Aeva Disaster, as I did, as a screamo band, but the final three tracks bend the music toward something altogether different. “Pure Eden” switches the format a little relying heavily on the vocals and bass guitar to drive the song, but the familiar dissonant/harmonic theme continues and even adds a hint of heaviness.
The electronic element is fully realized with my favorite track, “Good on Paper.” The synth smoothes over the rocky guitar work at first, but eventually comes to dominate at the climax, cutting through with its own frenetic repetition of the guitar melodies.
“Calling Card Apologies” makes amends for anything but a crappy EP, boasting a little of everything in a culmination of musical know-how in yet another flawless debut out of Baltimore.