29 Aug 24th–Aug 30th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | Written in the Stars A bright future is ahead for Phoenix rockers Astrologer. BY TOM REARDON I n 2022, Astrologer put out the single “Tomorrow” on Lollipop Records. The first line of the song is “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.” It doesn’t take long, listening to that first single, to know what’s going to happen in the world of the band. It’s going to be a very, very fun ride. With a new record, “Eternal Friday,” out last week, the future certainly looks bright for Astrologer. The band, which is mostly based out of the Phoenix area, is basically a pandemic baby and features two former members of the excellent local band Weird Radicals in Andrew Cline (vocals and guitar) and Nick Florence (lead guitar). Joining these two long- time collaborators are Cline’s wife, Candy Caballero Cline (vocals and guitar), Derek Jordan (drums), Emily Crowley (bass), Blake Garmon (guitar) and punk rock legend Don Bolles (a.k.a. Jimmy Giorsetti) on vocals and guitar. Their first tour kicked off on Aug. 14 in Phoenix, an eight-show romp around the Southwest with three shows in Arizona, four shows in Southern California and another in Las Vegas to round out the itinerary. Andrew Cline is as big of a music fan as you’ll find, and his range of influences is widely felt on the mercurial “Eternal Friday.” The record is definitely a genre- bender, but in the best possible way. Fans of Cline’s current and previous work will enjoy how the record bounces from Cure-esque love songs to bubblegum pop to cactus- flavored indie rock, sometimes melding all three into something uniquely its own thing. Instantly familiar, yet aping no one, “Eternal Friday” is an instant classic. The band released the single “Eternal Friday” last month and it’s definitely a nod to The Cure with its lush, yet maudlin feel. There’s also some discernable tribute riffage aimed at The Cure’s fellow ’80s heroes Modern English. “The feeling that I was trying to capture is a sort of hazy, dreamy melancholic feeling. Nothing has ever really inhabited that space to me more than my memory of being in my mom’s Corolla when I was like 4 years old and ‘Just Like Heaven’ comes on the radio. It’s like that feeling ... It’s like a map. I know what that feeling is, and I know that sound is an excellent way of touching that place. That’s the feeling that I wanted for [‘Eternal Friday’], so now I’m just using it like different brushes, different paints,” Cline says. More recently, Hello Records dropped the third single from “Eternal Friday” in the form of a red vinyl 7-inch record entitled “Bang Bang Orangutang” with the B side “Green & Blue.” The A side is straight from the Gary Glitter school of power pop with a great breakdown of call-and-response “Hey, hey, heys” and “Whoa-oh-ohs” that will earworm their way into your psyche. “Green & Blue,” on the other hand, reminds the listener of the Los Angeles- based Paisley Underground scene of the early 1980s. Candy Caballero Cline’s dreamy vocals add the perfect layer of psychedelic charm to this pop stomper. With labels like Lolipop Records and Hello Records putting out material, Astrologer is definitely ready for some- thing bigger. The band chose to release “Eternal Friday” under their own Permanent Zoo Records label, but they are excited about continuing their relationship with the other labels as well. “It takes a village, you know?” quips Cline before adding, “We’ve got a really good relationship with Lolipop and Hello (Records). It’s been nice to reconnect with the guys at Hello for the single.” Cline is already working on the follow- up to “Eternal Friday,” and while he enjoys being able to float from one style to another, he’s got a different plan for what comes next. “I intend to do an album that sort of inhabits one style throughout, so I’m just moving in the direction. I used to really stand against it, you know? I was always like, ‘I don’t want every song to sound the same.’ Now, though, it’s come full circle. I’m coming back to this place where it’s a new challenge. I’m creating a new box. Can I do 10 songs that share a similar stylistic quality? You know, it’s all just fun and games,” Cline says. “THE FEELING THAT I WAS TRYING TO CAPTURE IS A SORT OF HAZY, DREAMY MELANCHOLIC FEELING.” Dynamic duo “Andy & Candy” (Andrew Cline and Candy Caballero Klein) doing their thing with their excellent band, Astrologer. (Photo by Alex Vese) ▼ Music
