I have to disagree with most early reviews of this album claiming it isn't a "feel-good" album, there is a relief which comes with the sinister depth of Sirens of Titan. It's finding humanity in rust. As singer Mark Johnson sings on "No Como Los (Bottom Feeders)", "Life is in the small places you'll go". Among the sombre tones and dark hues of ARO's musical landscape there arises a brimming beauty that slips in through the cracks of your soul. Given a thorough listen ARO can become more than just comfortable, they become vastly intriguing, even uplifting.
ARO's music accentuates the feeling of distance. Not only is the lyrical content familiar with desires, dreams, and memories - perhaps even death - the album is plays deception with distance. The album begins like a tired whisper then unfolds into an encompassing aura. By the ninth track, "Rest Stop", I was inside the music; familiar with the lightness of the drums, the angelic pitch of Mark Johnson, the celestial reverb of the guitars, and the sudden shifts into treacherous territory, throwing me off into areas of isolation and solitude.
A rich debut of immensity and vitality, fresh with potential and ripe with possibility. Listeners of Radiohead, Wilco, and the Great Lake Swimmers will find something interesting here. Take a deep listen through this album, and you may find the skin of your contempt shed like a dark cloud.



