The Auras – The Auras (2012)

In consideration of the band’s catalog in general …

Many years ago, one of the first things that drove me to cassettes was the fact that I often felt too many bands were padding their albums with filler or were at times off on musical tangents where they’d lace their albums with ‘so-called’ tripped out nonsense, that while fun for the first couple of listens, soon became tiring, boring, even embarrassing, forcing me to edit out material, often saving only the songs that road most comfortably in my back pocket.

The issue with that concept was that I was severely loosing fidelity … now flash forward into the 21st century, where with the advent of BandCamp and other such sites, I’m able to purchase and keep only the music I love, treasure, and hopefully these artists that I pick and choose from will take note that there are only certain numbers listeners are willing to pay money for, and that aspect will illicit them to end their poor judgement and get down to the core of the matter and not give me what I don’t want. This aspect is even more important with the costs of vinyl today, because after fifty-some years of record buying, I’m no longer interested in shelling out my dollars, holding my breath hoping that the album arrives undamaged, and that care has been taken in its production.

Yes, I realize all of that was a long lead into the music of Auras, a band who ride the psychedelic wave with some really fine tunes, it’s just that out of their entire catalog, I’ve only managed in total to keep six that I thought were worthwhile. Of course I understand that everyone’s take is not the same as mine when it comes to psychedelic sounds, though I think that after all these years I’ve listened to enough from this genre to carry some weight with my thinking, knowing when bands are being original and when they’re simply walking the footsteps of others. To that end I’ve kept those mellow down easy numbers, “Holy Mount,” “Peacock,” “Desert Dream (Nothing is Real),” “Love Just Spirals On,” the brilliant “Honey Flower” and “I Believe In Everything,” where to that end I will continue to expand this compilation of sonically wasted intoxication with original and delicate vocalizations, feeling comfortable dangling my feet in the the warm hypnotic waters Auras currents in my direction, and letting numbers such as “Punching Grandma In The Face” or the entire album Saturn Day to jettison passed me with its two silly editions of the song “Drip,” one a remix by The Vacant Lots that’s no better, a track that comes off as pretentious and unlistenable as Pink Floyd bouncing the buzzing of a fly from one speaker to another, with “Drip” causing me to simply roll my eyes, answering the question “What were they thinking?” by suggesting that “They weren’t.” All of this trails back to my opening statement, where I’ve suggested that you listen to all Auras has to offer and pick only what you find most compelling, letting the rest to slide on by unnoticed.

*** The Fun Facts: The band draw their name from a supposed emanation surrounding the body of a living creature, viewed by mystics, spiritualists, and some practitioners of complementary medicine as the essence of the individual, and allegedly discernible by people with special sensibilities.

– Jenell Kesler

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