Dan Asio is a singer/songwriter from the suburbs of Chicago who started his solo venture just last year in the middle of the pandemic after his previous band, Tonic Freight Train, had to be put on hold. Asio recently released a six-song EP entitled Still Jaded. Asio mentions this about Still Jaded - “Influenced by the songwriters of the ‘60s and the alternative bands from the ‘90s it comes out like the chiller side of RHCP and Incubus, two acts also rooted in my musical DNA.”
The EP starts with “Don’t Know Anything.” It begins with clean guitar chords and a huge sounding drum kit and bass that comes into the mix quickly. The groove is great and I immediately felt drawn to the vocals. They are both catchy and natural sounding. The melodies were memorable. There’s a lot of transitions in this song and some are more subtle than others. The use of vocal harmonies works well. Right before the two-minute mark the BPM increases and goes into the climax of the song. Great opener. The next song is entitled “Hardly Know Ya” which is upbeat and some of the grooves here reminded me of something you might hear from a jam band. I thought the combination of clean funky guitar and wah wah guitar worked very well. It’s a blast of a song which could make you dance if you’re not careful. One of my favorite bands Pavement came to mind when I heard “Jaded.” Something about the vocals and jangly guitar chords. “Unprepared” asks existential questions about purpose and doubt. The song however doesn't feel as heavy as the lyrics imply. That’s one of the things about music is that the melodies and aesthetics can counter the meaning of the words and be used successfully like it is in this case. “Come Alive” is next and is another song with a killer groove. The guitar work is top notch on this song. Last up is “Burn Me Down” which is a little more pensive and has some similarities to Mac Demarco. One thing Asio does really well throughout this EP is write hooks which draw you in. The songs are well written and the vocals are the focal point of the music although there’s a lot to appreciate from the instrumentation as well.
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