STRATOSPHERE

Duster was a lot of things for a few years in the '90's, and then they vanished. I guess first and foremost they were a slowcore band, a late-to-the-party hidden gem of a beautifully lethargic movement who fought second wave grunge's fire with a slow motion waterfall. But they certainly borrowed heavily from space rock and even a bit from stoner rock, really seeming to want to create the ultimate album to float away to even in its occasional heavy moments. The production on this is one of those championship moments of lo-fi; this album would not be the same if it weren't three big degrees or so more lo-fi than Neutral Milk Hotel. Oh, and the music itself? Turned out fantastic. It's a beautiful cloud that here and there will suddenly spit awe-inspiring lightning, with prerequisite thunder to boot. And there are a lot of surprises in some of the tracks, though still the very best moments are tracks like the "Moon Age"/"Heading For The Door" combo, which just sound right. A fairly better '90's indie album then even "Perfect From Now On", with sizable potential to be loved by progheads to boot.