Peta, Aaron: I'm Not A Hipster

Aaron Peta, originally from Edmonton, Alberta, moved to New York in 2005 and five years later has released his debut album I'm Not A Hipster. Joining Peta (vocals, guitars, synths, sounds) is Stacy O'Dell (drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, strings). Peta's songs are firmly rooted in alternative flavoured pop/rock and are very catchy. Guitar is used mainly to provide riffs and rhythms and does not offer much in the way of soloing, save for guest guitarist Pat Harrington who provides some gritty guitar on "Break Down Gravity's Weight". However, that is not necessarily a bad thing. This music has plenty to offer mostly in the form of catchy hooks, quirky rhythms and the strangely compelling voice of Peta. He does not possess a powerful voice and has a somewhat monotone delivery but it works for this style of music. If I had to make comparisons, Beck came to mind occasionally but I'm Not A Hipster is rather hard to compare to other artists. Of course that might have to do with my lack of knowledge in the alternative pop scene, however, I still have to give full credit to Peta for creating an album that sounds pretty unique to these ears.

Matching the quirky music is Peta's off kilter lyrical themes and wily sense of humour. In the jangly "We Are God" Peta sings "I'm greasy I'm bloody I'm torn from the sky, you're easy you're dreaming your sparkling blue eyes. You know that your mind will be blown from the sound. Your head spins around and the drone pulls you down. We. Are God. Are God. Are God." Half the fun is trying to figure what Peta's trying to say and sometimes it seems an impossible task such like on the aptly titled "Your Songs Have No Form" where Peta croons "Whining baby dining drinking wine baby's drinking wine and dining on a dime. Drinking all the vintage red wine hairdye. Dining on a morning hurricane red sky." Other highlights include the irresistible catchiness of "You You You" and the dreamy atmospherics in the hypnotic "Where They Are".

While some songs work better than others I found I'm Not A Hipster to be refreshing and just a little different from the fare I usually listen to. If you are a fan of quirky pop music and appreciate the humorous side of life you may want to check this one out.

Track Listing:
1. Your Songs Have No Form
2. We Are God
3. Sandy Understand
4. Super Sexy
5. I'm Not A Hipster
6. We're Coming
7. You You You
8. Gotta Get It Now
9. Break Down Gravity's Weight
10. Way Home
Bonus Track
11. Where They Are

Added: June 6th 2010
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 2768
Language: english

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