The Age of Rockets are a small unsigned band with a huge signable sound . Vocalist, programmer, keyboardist and guitarist, Andrew Futral, drummer and trumpet player Saul Simon Mcwilliams and bass, synth, glockenspiel and flute player Bess Rogers hail from New York Ciry. The three of them love making music together and have just recently released their sophomore album "Hanna".

Their sound inhabits the space between orchestral pop and glitch heavy ballads. The album begins with sweeping synthesizers that give way to glorious harmonies and eventually gentle guitar and glockenspiel. Andrew Futral recently posted that he wanted to take the band in a more organic direction from their previously heavy electronic sounds. If the sound of the first few tracks is any indication, they have accomplished their mission. The soft melodies, harmonies, and understated glitch beats work together to create an album that is the most comprehensive successor to the Postal Service's "Give Up".

While the melodies, harmonies and rich lyrical content are the primary draws to their sophomore album "Hanna" there are some great pure rock moments here as well. Like the eruptions of guitar riffs on "H. Soft Escape". Or the towering strings and ultra glitchy breaks on "Ship to Shore."

The biggest pitfall The Age of Rockets could fall into is sounding to the passing ear as "Too Alike" to The Postal Service with Futral's soft voice not sounding terribly different to Ben Gibbards saccharine croon. If anyone takes the time to listen to more than 10 seconds of a song, it should be readily apparent that their songs have greater cohesion and depth than that of the groundbreaking 2003 subpop collaboration between James Tamborello and Ben Gibbard. There's not an unpleasant sound to be heard on "Hanna" and that's sure to make them on many short lists for album of the year.

The Age of Rockets - Elephant & Castle


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