Slip into Something More Comfortable

There's no doubt Asteria want a piece of the pop-punk pie. For their Broken English debut Slip into Something More Comfortable, the Indiana crew have competently studied up on the emo formula made popular by bands before them like the Starting Line. Their album is basically ten slightly different reconfigurations of pleasant vocals that strain with earnestness, choruses that swell into catchy explosions of ringing guitars and propulsive drumbeats, and lyrics that are equal parts wide-eyed optimism and angst-filled doubt. Asteria aren't reinventing anything here, nor are the guys even trying; yet that's not really the problem. Every song is sufficiently hook-filled and fun enough to garner them a healthy little fan base ready to sing along to every note at every show, and the band exudes a certain down-to-earth charm that is refreshing in the face of many of their smug peers. But too much of this album is simply nice enough for the time being, and not exactly memorable enough to demand repeated listens. There are some exceptions — most notably the vivacious "The Taste, The Touch" where driving guitars build into a blissfully infectious chorus — but elsewhere Asteria is simply content to just be satisfactorily pleasing and inoffensive. This ten-song set is a good starting point and shows definite promise. However, Asteria aren't quite there yet, and they're going to need an extra oomph of something — stickier hooks, more dynamic arrangements — to push them over the edge from being simply adequate into necessary listening.