Saucers Over Washington - Transitions

Saucers Over Washington

Transitions
​self-released; 2022

3.8 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Saucers Over Washington is a shoegaze band born out of the ashes of psych-garage band The Grizzly Atoms. The band from Orlando, Florida released a four-song EP entitled Transitions. They meant for this release to act as a transition between Saucers Over Washington and The Grizzly Atoms which is why they at least partially named it that.

The band starts with a song called “Insomnia” and is one heck of a dynamic song. It starts rocking out but quickly goes into a shoegaze style verse where they experiment with shades of dissonance. There are some really dynamic builds and drops a little after the two-minute mark. The band eventually just rocks out hard without holding anything back. The lyrics point to someone struggling with the terms of their reality. Suffice it to say the opener should grab your attention.

They continue with “Roundabout” and I was getting My Bloody Valentine type shoegaze vibes with this song perhaps combined with a band like Bloc Party. The energy is kinetic and the rhythm section holds down the foundation. I loved the drumming on this song which is wild but fits the song. The band goes off with their instrumental talent on this song especially towards the end. On top of that the vocals melodies are memorable and well delivered. 

Up next is “The Top” and this song was different and according to the title seems aligned with their previous incarnation. The song is more four chord style punk mixed with a slight ’50s pop/surf sound. I was thinking some of this style was reminiscent of the band Weezer.

Last up is “Starry” and it was a great song to close out on. The vocals follow the guitar melody but also happen to be some of my favorite melodies. There are some very cool transitions on this song. The band can purposely sound dissonant and fragmented and come back full force.

​It’s common for bands to change their style. In this case I thought the band nailed it, grabbing elements of multiple genres and making it their own. Hopefully, this is just the beginning for Saucers Over Washington.

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