oRanGe. I Am A Rocketship

Just a few days a go we wrote on I Am Rocketship's new single 'Shooting Star', now it's time to share our thoughts on oRanGe, the five song EP the duo released. Only half a year after 'Ghost Stories' I Am A Rocketship releases new music. There are some things that the Covid pandemic can be thanked for: new music from artists that found themselves locked in homes as well and used that time to be creative. oRanGe is one of those albums.

Eric Weissinger and L.E. Kippner have used this time well. All recorded on a notebook; the sound despite of that is huge. Who needs a studio these days? Not I Am A Rocketship. oRanGe has been made to reflect 2020, the pandemic, the rise of fascism and ever faster climate change. Musically it all comes together in the centrally placed title track, an instrumental that voices the rage all people will feel or have felt at some point in time this year. We are witnessing things that usually only happen in movies. From stacks of deaths in trucks in the streets of the developed world and on the streets in the developing world, to a president in the leading democracy of the world, who hollows out democratic institutions by the day and stokes fear, mistrust and anger, like all "good" dictators are prone to do. 'oRanGe' reflects the anger and concerns quite well, without a single word uttered.

'Back From The Shadows' is the EP's final song, The song has two sides to it. The quiet part where Kippner sings her observations about things that were hiding in the dark, but have moved out of it recently and the part where Weissinger lets his guitar roar. The opening of the song holds loud, angry voices shouting for us to hear. Emotions fly high. The quiet verse that follows in a way is surprising, as it does not reflect the anger and turmoil, more the will and determination it takes to push the ugliness back into the shadows. The chorus is the actual fight that it may take as well. "We never really thought it could happen here", sings L.E. Kippner. Well, it has, and, yes, it is extremely worrying, while at the same time nothing truly has gone wrong yet. Loads of books and theories are published on the rise of authoritarianism around the world. Those who aim at stopping it, all advocate to stop it as early as possible and never give in to the slow moving tendencies. Once you do, you're lost. So, yes, let's "push it back into the shadows" and beyond, just to be sure. This song holds a warning and a remedy in one.

Promo photo: Katja Bjorn

oRanGe is a political album, coming out of Atlanta, Georgia, which happens to be one of the states where the battle is literally being fought out over a few thousand votes, but let's keep politics there and return to the music.

With 'Shooting Star' the EP starts in a beautiful dreamy way. The drums are firm, so the rest of the song can float over it. The slow piano notes give the whole a feel of spaciousness, like the view from outer space Weissinger sings about. Long drawn out notes on the electric guitar evoke the space travel. The acoustic guitar keeps the song grounded as a whole. A beautiful song it is.

'God's Country' slowly rocks but oh so firmly. 'The Light In Your Eyes' presents the light and the shade within one song, showing how diverse I Am A Rocketship is, even within a song. With oRanGe the duo certainly surprised me as it went from nice to good in my book. This is an EP every alternative rock fan, who does not object to a softer and more serious outing, should check out.

Wo.

You can listen to and order oRanGe here:

https://iamarocketship.bandcamp.com/album/orange

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g