ASPECTS OF PHYSICS http://www.aspectsofphysics.com/ Rising from the ashes of the enigmatic San Diego post-rock troupe Physics at the beginning of 2000, Aspects of Physics exists as a continuation of existing ideas with the much-needed fusion of new thoughts on music. In order to further their experiments, Jason Soares (who has served time in such bands as Rob Crow's power-pop Thingy, the mock-political hardcore band Rice, and the indie-instrumentalist Stacatto Reads) and original member Thatcher Orbitashi have constructed a wide array of input devices in the forms of guitar, synths (vintage to virtual), laptops, desktops, MIDI controllers, projectors, wireless transmitters, and modified electronic devices, among other techwich gadgets. After playing and touring for over a year (supporting such acts as Lesser, Pinback, Tristeza, The Album Leaf, The Locust, The Fucking Champs, etc), Thatcher parted from the duo and was quickly replaced with Physics alumni and sometime contributor, JFRE Coad. JFRE is no stranger to experimentation, as witnessed in his stint with the same local punk/rock band that spawned pre-post rockers A Minor Forest and the skitzo-n-bass Lesser (of which he was an early live member and authorized trouble maker). Like any good post-post-modern citizen, their influences are random at best, but can be summarized in the following token bio-name-dropping-section: Punk and its sub-categories (post-punk, no-wave, un-wave), Krautrock (German late 60's early 70's music a la educated, disassociated, drug-influenced patriots), Minimalism (Maximalism) a la Glass vs. Reich and company, Experimental (i.e. Cage, Stockhausen, Schoenberg), Early Experimental Electronic music (Ilhan Mimaroglu, Iowa Ear Music) and Modern Electronic music (sometimes referred to IDM, not too dancey i.e. Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher to name a few). So while AOP's predecessor Physics brought the worlds of indie/punk rock and electronic music together five years before it was even hip to do so (ahem... Tortoise, Mogwai, and Radiohead can all suck it), Aspects of Physics takes it one step further with their seamless welding of the styles of post-rock, ambient, IDM, visuals. And lest we forget the punk rock influence, does so with a general dissent towards power structures and non-dynamic systems. Systems of Social Recalibration is more than a CD - it's a philosophy. The beautiful 12-page full color booklet diagrams these thoughts in accordance with the ideas set forth by AOP's music. In a scene so bent on being "cutting edge" and "groundbreaking," often the original underlying ideas become masked, but Aspects of Physics has something meaningful to say. Every click, every sweep of the DSP plugin console, every amplitude and every frequency serves a purpose, from the spooky ambient intro of "Pulse Width" to the epic progression of the 17-minute long "Level 4.2." Expect the post-rockers to shout with glee at the minimal guitar stylings of "Reson", while the IDM geekboys will ponder whether the C64 Sid samples used in "s.id" are vintage C64 or a modern emulator. In the end, however, what matters most is that you have a cohesive package of music and mind, and beyond all, a refreshing break from the monotony of an often faceless and voiceless genre.