Audio Out Send - Or Does It Explode? (Flashcard Project, 2003)

Audio Out Send
Or Does It Explode?
Flashcard Project
2003

Rating: 7 Oakland taco trucks out of 10

We have a new contender vying for best Bay Area pop record of the year with Rogue Wave – it’s Audio Out Send! With their first full length release, AOS have instantly put their name on the map of good local pop music, and stand as further proof that the number of good bands coming out of the Bay and beyond is just as good as anywhere else in the US.

AOS has more in common with Rogue Wave than both being great bands – they share similar propensity towards writing unclassifiable pop songs. So many bands out there instantly strike you as sounding like something else, whereas both of these bands produce a timeless brand of pop that is neither a rehash of past sounds nor following the gimmick of the day. In addition, AOS remind me a little bit of the Flaming Lips in the way their songs are arranged, and also contain elements of electronica along the lines of Boards of Canada or another similar, mellow electronic group. (Aside – it has been pointed out to me that everyone gets compared to The Flaming Lips these days, and it does seem to be true. But I stand by my assertion that there is a similarity here, especially with The Flaming Lips most recent album ‘Yoshimi’. I guess you’ll just have to listen to the record to know if I’m full of shit or not.)