Astral

Astral is a dream pop group based in San Francisco, California. Astral was formed by singer-guitarist Dave Han and drummer Shawn Poh in 1999; bassist Amy Rosenoff joined them in 2001. Their vocals are frequently compared to those of The Cure; other influences include My Bloody Valentine and Joy Division. Their music is of an ethereal, melodic nature; this ambient sound is created largely by heavy use of distortion and feedback effects in Han's guitar. Astral are also notable for incorporating improvisation into their live performances . In 2002, Astral released a self-produced EP, "Only Sometimes". In 2003, Astral released an LP, entitled "Orchids". Two songs from that album, "Raining Down" and the title-track instrumental, were preloaded in the Rio Carbon MP3 Players. In 2008 the band released their second album Sleepwalker.