Comets On Fire Avatar CD

Their third proper full-length and second album for Sub Pop, 2006's AVATAR is the most expansive and sonically varied release yet from Bay Area acid-rock combo Comets on Fire; it's also their most blatantly classic rock-inspired effort as well. Acting as something of a punk-rock auxiliary to the so-called "freak folk" movement of the early 2000s, Comets on Fire are not without certain obvious Summer of Love trappings, and the shuffling, near-jazzy noodlings that introduce many of the songs here sound tailor-made for the Fillmore West. While the band is still capable of scorching moments ("Holy Teeth" is a start-to-finish space rock juggernaut), they emerge from a more nuanced musical framework, making for a decidedly groovier trip through the rock-&-roll spaceways.

Personnel: Ethan Miller (vocals, electric guitar); Ben Chasny (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar); Ben Flashman (baritone guitar); Utrillo Kushner (piano, drums); Noel Harmonson (drums).

Recording information: Louder Studios, San Francisco, CA (01/2006-04/2006); Prairie Sun Studios, Catati (01/2006-04/2006).

Spin (p.100) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he local color includes viscous head-trip organ ooze, frenetic noise-jazz drums, even languid bluesy interludes, all pushing the music toward a climax..."
Q (p.107) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[This album] keeps their bluesy freak-out in check and gives them melodic ballast. It's fantastic stuff."
Uncut (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] 46-minute of synapse-frying, virtuoso intensity....It's a record dense with allusions."
Alternative Press (p.214) - "The band really start to bare their fangs on tracks that growl with animal instinct....AVATAR is further proof that Comets On Fire are one of the most relevant bands of their decade."