Asa Ransom - An Asa Ransom Release

Relocating to New York must have been a no-brainer for Asa Ransom, hailing as they do from Marion, Indiana, whose only recent(ish) claim to fame has been hosting Julia Roberts's union with (now ex-) husband Lyle Lovett. The Big Apple, by contrast, is so adept at incubating dance-rock-garage hybrids it could no doubt churn them out in its sleep (which, as Frank Sinatra once revealed, it never, ever does). Borrowing copiously from the local aesthetic, the band's playful mix of Rapture grooves with The Walkmen’s spiky alt-rock boasts liberal song structures which journey into all sorts of unexpected but exciting places. The Luck Of Stoney Bowes combines taut Wire-y guitar with muttered whispers, while The Way We Go, mostly consisting of the title repeated over a Clinic-al backbeat, sounds simultaneously like an invitation to dance and a threat. And they aren’t out of ideas yet, having already begun their follow-up. I look forward to it.