"Aspiring debut"

Aspirations - EP!

Label: Underground Operations
Release Date: June 10, 2008

Track Listing:
1. 10729 King George Hwy
2. Between Us
3. Get Fucked
4. Paulus Crescent
5. Accident Prone

I almost laughed. Almost. But instead, I sat silently with a puzzled smile as I looked over the EP(!) and its scant packaging. Almost writing the entire project off as a joke, I leaned back and took in Aspirations' debut release – and walked away surprised.
I actually liked this? Well, yes, I did.

At times sounding like Pretty Girls Makes Graves (intro of 10729 King George Hwy) and The Reason (Paulus Crescent), it was disorienting at first to hear Stu McKillop's nascent growl shatter the layers of loops and samples the twosome created over their 5-track release.

McKillop's nasally yell is very much a cross between Reggie and the Full Effect's alter-egos Fluxuation, the synth-pop guru, and Common Denominator, the metal-loving Finnish. I couldn't quite understand what Aspirations were trying to accomplish with a sound that almost seemed in jest.
But it didn't take long before their upbeat tempo and simple harmonies swelled into a cacophony of poppy-goodness.

Kirsten Harris, the second part of Aspirations, adds contrast to McKillop's shouts that soothes his voice and brings about a wave of calm amidst the massive array of drum loops, heavy bass and crunching guitars. To top it all off, they cover Jawbreaker's “Accident Prone” off their seminal Dear You album, raising the bar of my love for them.


www.myspace.com/aspirations604