Aurganic’s Distant Echoes & Close Encounters Is As Huge As Incubus & Black Keys

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Aurganic, the refreshingly eclectic, exciting electronic duo have unveiled their latest offering, Distant Echoes & Close Encounters. Since the turn of the century, rock-duos have become more and more common with bands like the White Stripes and the Black Keys blending blues based rock and garage band rambunctious to great success. Aurganic may be cut from another cloth, but they’re no less intriguing and their music no less infectious.

The Toronto-New York-based band, which consists of Michael Kossov and Leo Piasq have etched out a nice corner of the musical landscape all to themselves. Sonically, they manage to cover a lot of ground while allowing the music to flow and breathe; and take some unexpected turns. The guitars are drenched in reverb and delay, lending to a modern prog feel reminiscent of early 2000’s Incubus. Take the great track, “Distant Echoes,” the fifth cut on their new album. The arpeggiated clean guitars weave in and out with the synths and soundscape to create a huge, yet simple and effective arrangement.

Listening through Distant Echoes & Close Encounters, you can pick up on little hints of late-era Deftones; particularly in their arrangements. The aforementioned “Distant Echoes” showcases Kossov’s strong vocal capabilities. A lot of singers can fake it; or at the least, be content to play it safe, afraid to expose their shortcomings. Kossov is not of this ilk. The only aspect stronger than his melodic choices is his impressive vocal display. His vocals are reminiscent of Jared Leto’s in 30 Seconds to Mars. Kossov doesn’t rush through any lines of phrases. He lets them flow naturally, giving his lyrics their due opportunity to be absorbed.

Album opener, “Signs” serves more as a declaration than an opening cut. The song’s soundscape sets the mood, offset shortly by a haunting, immediate piano line before the mellow track comes to life. Along with Kossov’s vocal, the drumming really jumps to the front of the mix. The unexpected bass drum patterns keep you guessing, while the guitars and vocal hold steady. It’s a left turn that doesn’t sound forced or contrived. It adds a certain depth to the track as well as some blink and you’ll miss it tempo shifts. Upon hearing “Signs” for the first time, you’re caught off guard by this but it actually leaves you needing to hear it again so that you can fully appreciate the genius behind it.

Any fan of rock music today would agree there is a severe lack of originality. More and more, bands today are content to just take what is already being done and present a mere carbon copy. When you come across a band that takes risks, that pushes the envelope, it’s akin to finding gold in the mountains of bland, generic 2010’s rock music. For those starved for originality, or desperate to find a new band whose work you can devour, look no further than Aurganic. Do yourself a favor and get your hands- and ears- on Distant Echoes & Close Encounters!

If you want to know more about Aurganic- and you definitely should- you can check them out through their website and various social media platforms.