Before I actually knuckled down and bought it, I was kind of annoyed Fuzzorama Records wouldn’t send me a finished copy of Swedish fuzz rockers Asteroid‘s masterpiece second album, II. Entitled prick that I am, I thought maybe I’d earned it with all the sucking off I did of the release between my extensive review, interview and other posts. Hell, II was my number one pick for the first half of 2010! I recall it being with some resignation that I finally made the purchase.

Then I got the thing, and if you haven’t picked it up, then you don’t know, but the packaging is beautiful — it’s this gorgeous die-cut digibox fold-out kind of thing with the panels as part of the artwork itself. Suddenly it made sense. I wouldn’t give that shit away either! Fuck that. Let the reviewers buy it. Score one for Fuzzorama.

Actually, score two for Fuzzorama, because the album itself is magnificent. The only reason I mention the artwork now is because I really think I’ve exhausted everything else there is to say about Asteroid‘s second outing; the increased jam feel, the stunning vocals, the memorable songwriting and much more all well documented by now in the annals of searchable Obelisk lore. It may not have ended up in the top five at the end of the year, but I have the feeling when/if this list gets revisited in 2011, I’ll still be rocking II while others have fallen by the wayside. It’s a keeper in every sense. I’m glad I bought it.

Tags: Asteroid, Örebro, Sweden, Top 20 of 2010

This entry was posted on Monday, December 20th, 2010 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.