An immersive album with stirring thematic concepts from Saucers Over Washington, American Cosmic explores the UFO phenomenon within an eclectic rock prowess — spanning from lush intrigue to distortion-friendly invigoration. The album successfully captures the various emotions embedded within the UFO phenomenon — from the dark rabbit holes of self-searching within “Charlatan” to representations of otherworldly encounters, from the opening track’s UFO-sighting narrative to the anxiously gripping “Abduction.”
“Intro (Space Planet)” opens the album with intrigue, resembling a variety of sequences that shift between paranormal-forward news reports of glowing objects in the sky. “It was late at night, and I looked up at the stars,” the recollection begins, marveling at something that looked like a very bright planet — that then shot off to the west. Thunderous guitar distortion arises as the UFO sighting is further described, and how it invoked a feeling akin to “someone looking at you from across the room.” Certainly, American Cosmic wastes no time with a commanding and stylish rock-forward captivation.
The resulting guitar feedback fades gently into the ensuing “Dreamweaver,” which caresses with a more jangly, dream-pop charm. An invigorated vocal rise aligns with buzzing guitars, letting out an “I want to believe,” plea. The track excels in between its jangle-pop vulnerabilities and spirited shoegaze-y rise. The intensified, heavier rock fuzz dominates on the gripping “Astral Glider,” strutting a punk-tinged fervency that reveals a further eclectic appeal in the dreamier glistening past the three-minute turn. The album impresses with a decisively eclectic tonal rock range across these riveting opening tracks.
Amidst the memorable rock productions persists an engaging thematic hold, kickstarted by the opening track’s descriptions of a UFO. Various descriptions show of humanity’s wonderment at what may exist beyond, and the nocturnal star-gazing within “Ambassadors of Earth” is particularly effective in that regard. “See the lights at they blink to life, responding in kind to our call,” lush vocals enamor alongside twangy guitars, escalating into a psych-friendly guitar twinkling as a vibrant “free from all constraints,” catharsis takes hold.
While “Ambassadors of Earth” feels invitational in a sense, “Abduction” touts an aptly whirring rock anxiety in its roaring blasts of overdrive and hurried vocal descriptions of the unknown. Audibly representative of an alien abduction and its rapidly unsettling qualities, the track impresses in its “waking back to life,” descriptions and distortion-addled doses of realizations — “paranoia creeping in,” as one wonders what just occurred. American Cosmic consistently engages in its reality-questioning themes and dynamic ranges between dreamy allure and impassioned introspection.
