NovaBound’s new album, Sevenths, arrived on November 22 and it’s a gem we’re glad to have uncovered. Tracks range from groovin’ funky baselines and spacey solid synths in opening number “Angel & the Starman” to the rocky sad sweetness of “Shattered Eyes”—a real Flaming Lips-style little ballad with pleasing vocal inflections that keep your ears piqued. Wait for that guitar solo that busts out of nowhere and takes you to somewhere. Hendrix would be proud, young squire.
This is the second release from NovaBound, the music project of Andrew Michael Agulto from out in Piscataway Township, New Jersey. On the album, Agulto uses the help of his brother Arthur on guitars and Kevin Basko (Rubber Band Gun) as his mentor in the studio. Live they’re Ryan Palmer on keys, Tim Butler on bass, and Kevin Lam on drums. After NovaBound’s debut Low Poly Breakfast in October 2018, Sevenths is a bit of a turn and it’s in the right direction. Tracks are sophisticated and mesmerizing and it’s hard to pinpoint a low moment.
“For Yesterday” takes us into another slow dance and feels like if ELO and John Lennon made a baby track together and added an amusement park at the end. His influences? “…top three influences would have to be freshly solo’d Paul, White Album John, and a tie between the Super Mario Galaxy and Luigi’s Mansion soundtrack.” We hear it and we feel it.
