Waking Ashland reviewed

Waking Ashland
Telescopes
(Immortal)

San Diego duo Waking Ashland are getting big in Japan and waited to release this EP in the States.

Far from schlocky, Spinal Tap rock, the Rising Sun element of their story is utterly confusing; Jonathan Jones and Ryan Lallier’s music is not. Commercial, Get Up Kids emo slowed to mix-FM pace, “Julian” opens with lilting harmonies over yearning piano chords. “Telescopes” entrenches itself more deeply into jangly adult pop with stock, lovelorn lyrics (“I’m calling for you”). The lighter-raising fiesta continues later on “Flowers On The Wall,” but the Japan thing remains a conundrum. That these songs were scuttled onto an EP is not.

5

– Steve Forstneger

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