75 Bands in 75 Days – Day 50: Atlas and the Astronaut

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome, to 75 Bands in 75 Days, where we’re showcasing some of the best talent that the Pacific Northwest has to offer, at least one band per day, leading up to December 31st, to ring in a new year. This list is in no particular order and it is not a chart or a countdown. It’s merely a list of bands or musicians that we feel are worthy of checking out. The band for Day 50 is a band from Vancouver, WA that has a very unique sound that we really dig. They are called Atlas and the Astronaut.

Whether it’s playing for two people, or for two hundred people, Atlas and the Astronaut leaves everything on stage with each performance. Emerging as one of the must-see bands in the Portland area, Atlas and the Astronaut composes unabashedly selfish post-rock songs with a tinge of punk rock attitude.

Their song structure lends itself to numerous genres, and they have opened for a variety of nationally touring bands ranging from art-pop missionaries, Eternal Summers, to the raucous hardcore of Fall City Fall.

The latest album, Tiny Artifacts, follows the story of Pixl: A girl with the burden of being the world’s only savior, and the slayer of the unyielding Sun Beast. Guitarist Matt LeMieux compiles a tapestry of leads and melodies to create a thoughtful musical journey from beginning to end, while bassist Casey Aspengren and drummer Lucas Goughnour bolster the album with a solid rhythm section that moves the story forward via a dense, layered wall of noise. Singer and storyteller Beau Rosser’s lyrics delve into the emotional ideas of loss, love, betrayal, and misplaced heroisms, while not only building a puzzle of Pixl’s psyche, but the band’s as well.

Check out the band on Facebook and Twitter

Don’t forget to vote for Atlas and the Astronaut in the 2014 NWMS READER’S POLL – TOP TEN NORTHWEST ALBUMS