Okay, so they have a really, really long band name that's comprised solely of indie rock and emo band name cliches. They can't help it-- they're retarded! Well, they aren't, really, but if they were, at least they'd have a good excuse. Instead, they're a few excuseless guys from Chicago that make dreamy space- rock that sounds heavily influenced by Nigel Godrich's production work on Radiohead's OK Computer.

Embracing Magnetics is the kind of album you can put on at your next stoner party, dim the lights, put an old "Mind's Eye" video on the TV, and space out to: "Forget your worries, man-- we got Novasonic!" Or, more precisely: "Forget your worries, man-- we got drugs!" See, without the drugs, Embracing Magnetics is simply not that pleasant a listen.

Novasonic have the production end of things down pat. Their album sounds great-- the guitars are drenched in reverb, but not to the point of sloppiness, the keyboards are way in back, adding sound effects that give the album more depth, and the vocals aren't buried in the mix. Even though they should be. The problem here is, these guys aren't the best songwriters. Evidence of this can be found... well, just about anywhere on the album. I'm not gonna get into it too much-- if you want an example, you can give "Sounds Just Like an Ocean" a spin. I hate to dis these guys 'cause I'm down with what they're doing. They just need to do it better.

-Ryan Schreiber