Rating: A-

There are only a few short weeks left until the doom of finals descends upon Eastern. The students scramble around the campus, hurrying under the increasingly hot sun, looking for something refreshing and relaxing to chill them out while they study for all those Calculus and Cultural Diversity classes.

Fear no more. Awesome Color has heard the cries of the student body and released “Massa Hypnos,” and, boy, is it sublimely cool.

“Massa Hypnos” opens up with “Transparent,” a track that knocks the stress out of the listener with Deep Purple-esque riffs and vocals like Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston. The rest of the album slows down fairly quickly, but that deceleration is handled extremely well, with the remaining tracks coming off like a relaxing Sunday drive after a Saturday night blowout.

Obviously then, Awesome Color does slow right. Tracks like “Oaxaca” and “Zombie” prove they can keep a high level of passion and intensity without mashing chords like madmen.

Oddly enough, Awesome Color has a huge Lynyrd Skynyrd influence present in “Massa Hypnos.” “Zombie,” especially, is eerily reminiscent of “Simple Man,” with a similar guitar intro.

In fact, the Skynyrd presence is felt throughout the entire album with drummer Allison Busch borrowing heavily from the Bob Burn’s style and lead vocalist/guitarist Derek Stanton masterfully utilizing distortion to get down to Ronnie Van Zant’s soulful, gritty wail.

Of course, the southern similarities may not be intentional, since, as previously mentioned, “Transparent” has more of a Deep Purple style sound, and “Flying” sounds so close to Sonic Youth that it teeters precariously on the border between musical influence and outright cover band.

To be honest though, no matter if the similarities are intentional or not, they are well meshed with an original style focused upon that elusive “mellow” quality.

The only real problem with “Massa Hypnos” is the ostensibly haphazard way the tracks are placed. Although “Transparent” serves as the absolute best choice to kick off the album, the rest of the tracks do not necessarily follow any noticeable pattern. “Slaughterhouse,” another Skynyrd style track, is perfect for the finishing crescendo so essential to a properly put together album with its positive vibe and progressive build; but for some inconceivable reason is relegated to the second to last slot.

That sort of problem happens quite a bit, with the tracks forming a peaks and valleys design out of their tones and pacing. All together; however, this is a rather minor point, since anybody who purchases the album for their mp3 player can just move the tracks around themselves. For the CD/LP purists among us; however, it does present a major annoyance.

In truth, Awesome Color has really put together a fantastic collection of tracks for “Massa Hypnos.” The previously mentioned “Zombie” is sure to become an instant classic to any fan of guitar bending and soulful vocal distortion. At the same time, all of the tracks lay down the new standard for easy-going, passionate music; so sit back and check them out.

Adam Mohebbi can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].