Spatial indie rock

Innaway - Innaway
(Some Records)
3 stars (out of 5 stars)
Reviewed: June 9, 2005

Review by Tony Bonyata

On Innaway's self-titled debut effort the southern California-based quartet waste no time in setting the tone of the album, as they also declare their influences along the way.
On the opening strains of the first number "Threat Hawk" a gritty harmonica rolls over a slow, thundering John Bonham-like beat before the smooth, laid back vocals slowly ripple in like an ocean's morning wave. And while the bluesy intro leans a bit towards Led Zeppelin with a little of the air let out of its balloon, the song adds enough psychedelic guitar over a Britpop inspired chorus to keep things interesting. The following track "The Strings of North Egg" unfolds into a lush, atmospheric slice of Pink Floyd-meets-Radiohead as it eventually morphs into meaty riffs and shards of dissonant guitar that accentuates the number without ever overshadowing it. Likewise on the track "Rise," which features a heavy King Crimson-prog-flavored guitar riff that stampedes in and out of the melancholy-laced beauty of this otherwise gentle number.
Both Floyd and Radiohead influences again rear their space-helmeted heads on the techno-spiked ambient instrumentals "Golden" and "Follow Follow Moon," while the vulnerable lead vocals on the closing space-folk number "George Walker On Water" hearkens back to Thom Yorke at a time when he wasn't afraid to hide the fact that he was creep.
Despite the many influences that abound on this effort Innaway still proves to have enough of their own otherworldly style to keep this disc of spatial, ambient rock in orbit long enough to support them to their next destination.