Ed Thompson

October 2, 2006 - Have you ever wandered through a museum, looking in amazement at canvases painted by those who are labeled as misunderstood geniuses and outcast loners? While staring at those works of art, you undoubtedly wonder what goes on in the minds of these artists, hoping for even a second to be able to understand them. Well, I may not be able to tell you what they think, but I can now say that I have heard the soundtrack to the lives of those men. It is Catapult Calypso by Ad Astra Per Aspera and it is as unique and individual as any of the canvases hanging on the walls. The first full-length release from this Lawrence, Kansas quintet is nothing short of a sonic gem. The category-defying indie band uses this release to successfully blend a litany of diametric opposites into a package of beauty: melodies and discordant sounds; harmonious vocals and agonizing screams, punk rock rhythms and pop beats. These all come together to form a well-crafted record that will appeal to a mass audience while eschewing the pleasures of the masses who are just looking for formulaic songs from pre-fabricated artists. The very first track, "Voodoo Economics," is a blast of high-octane energy infused with rhythmic dissonance. So as to prevent any kind of complacence with what they are trying to accomplish, AAPA follow that up with "Post Scarcity Sing-a-Long," a tune that can best be described as what you might have heard if the Cure were southern rockers. "Scatter Baby Spiders" is a Jackson Pollack-esque song in which the band, in a fit of musical inspiration, throws musical notes onto a scale to see what will stick. In typically atypical AAPA fashion, the next song on the CD is "Nothing Else is the Real Thing," a song which belongs as the background music on a Johnny Quest-like cartoon chase scene. To ensure that the status quo of stylistic wanderings is continued, "Unnamed Acoustic Song" gathers all the characters from the previous two songs and puts them in the same room for a giant Moroccan dinner party, complete with belly dancers and magical smoking pipes. Ad Astra Per Aspera, which is also the Kansas state motto meaning "To the Stars, with Difficulty," is an appropriate fit for the band as the songs on Catapult Calypso will definitely take the listener to the stars, among other places, but the ride will be free and easy and the listener will want to go again and again.