Released on April 14th, 2023
All songs conjured by: Jason Bieler & Baron Von Bielski
Genre: Nordic Ambient Post
https://jasonbieler.bandcamp.com/album/postcards-from-the-asylum
Tracklisting:
1. Bombay
2. Numb
3. Heathens
4. Mexico
5. Birds Of Prey
6. Flying Monkeys
7. Sic Riff
8. The Depths
9. Beneath The Waves
10. Sweet Eliza
11. 9981 Dark
12. Feels Just Like Love
13. Bear Sedatives
14. Deep Blue
15. Human Head
This album grabs you by the ears right away. It makes you instantly attracted. This is my first time listening to Jason and his voice reminds me of Axl Rose, in a good way. This album is also a trip, Jason’s lyrics are so unique. It’s like Jack White without the “Jack White” sounds. There’s a little more cohesiveness than first meets the eye right off the bat. There’s a bit of prog, a bit of old-time rock n roll, and an anthem rock feel.
Bombay, this one is a great start to the album. I like the synthy sounds throughout the song (for lack of a better term there), it compliments the song nicely. I would put this on a playlist and not turn it off if it came on a random play I may just add it to my running list, it’s got a great BPM and I’m glad Jason started the album with this song.
Numb, this track is rather proggy, with lots of different movements between instruments. The mix of drums and the guitar riff is of masterful taste.
Between Numb and Bombay I can’t decide which one is my top favorite, they’re both really good. Definitely, the best option to start the album.
Heathens, reminiscent of 80s hair metal, is where the comparison to Axl Rose hit the most for me. I clocked it around 133-136 bpm. This banger doesn’t stop or slow down, even during the instrumental bridge the drums keep that beat going straight into the final chorus and solo.
Mexico – I felt the aural drugs hit, and the trip began. The track is a bit slower and softer but it feels right after three heavy-hitting tracks. It just flows like the Rio Grande (an ode to the song). At the longest track on the album, it’s also one of the strongest in terms of lyrical content. But a good kind of strange, I found myself hearing it with a Pink Floyd feel. Comprising mainly of guitar, vocal melody and harmony, and synths, there are no drums until about the four-minute mark. The chorus lines and harmonies got stuck in my head.
Birds of Prey has an anthem rock sort of feel, one where you pull out the lighters and the lights go out and everybody sings along. I liked it.
Flying Monkeys starts the most with Jack White, and as soon as the guitar comes in, suddenly the song meets Rush and continues to be as such, featuring a xylophone throughout most of the song. The interplay of instruments intertwining but all playing on the same staccato beats was genius. I’d turn this one on when I needed some different feel and to get myself out of a funk. The staccato feels of the song makes it a fun listen.
Sic Riff – ok, the riff has landed, we’re back in rock land – the title of this track fits pretty well with the song as a whole. We’re back into the head-banging territory. This song almost has a Devin Townsend feel, from guitar riffs to vocal melody and harmonies, and radio voices in the middle.
The Depths starts with an attractive acoustic riff that reminds me of “Silent Lucidity”. Another song element of staccato. Jason’s voice compliments the tracking overall. The song has a classical music feel to it, and the harpsichord sound gives that even more definition. This is definitely in my top 5 favorite tracks on the album.
Beneath the Waves is another anthem rock-style song, slower, but it keeps you engaged. The 4-5 part harmonies (sounds like that at least) in this song are Queen-like and give the song a great listening quality. Not that the song would be worse without that, but I do get the sense the song may have been written around that idea ultimately as it’s a prominent feature, the rest of the song plows and demands your attention. A headbanger no doubt.
Sweet Eliza feels like a reprise of Bombay, in a way. It’s softer, the entire time. Of all the tracks, this is my least favorite, but I do like how it plays with the theme of the overall album.
9981 Darkness, I am trying to figure out how the title applies to the song, maybe it doesn’t. It has an almost Tears for Fears “Mad World” feel, I like what Jason and the crew have done to layer the song with the synth parts, it gets stuck in your ears for sure. It feels familiar to the album but also different enough that you don’t think you’ve heard it.
Feels Just Like Love hits the ground running, speaking of another good running song. This song makes me want to move, my only complaint, it’s only 3:44. I felt like this song could’ve been at least another 3:44! I do like how the double pedal ends the song.
Bear Sedatives, what a title for a song that starts off feeling like you’re watching a bear slowly lumber through the woods in a dream that is constantly changing scenery. The guitar riff around 1:10 is perfect! I think my favorite lines of the album are in this song, “Hundred million years ago depression killed the dinosaurs….Hundred million years ago some fish crawled up on to the shore”, queue that riff from 1:10. This song gave me a laugh, but also made me think about life. This song is top of the list for me. There’s so much character and layering.
Deep Blue hits that prog drumming again, and while there’s a clear 4/4 when you follow along it’s easy to get lost in the landscape of the drum sounds. While I could not drum to save myself, I found myself air drumming to this song. I enjoy the mixture of textures throughout this song. Another top of the list.
Human Head is a haunting acoustic track starting with thought-provoking lyrics, “I bought a human head, I put on my shelf, it watches over me, no one else. I took a human heart, placed it in this box, I sewed it in your chest and tied you up in knots”. I love this song, it’s such a great way to end this album. The lyrics, the music, as a songwriter myself the lines in this song are gold, things you wish you wrote.
This album overall has lots of truly great content. I hope that when you discover it you find yourself as engaged and enamored in it as I was. While there are some slight pitfalls for me and less interesting points in a couple of tracks, I know that with time and the right modality, every song will come together and the pieces will suddenly fit. In the end, this album is one you can put on while doing almost any activity and find something redeeming to make the activity that much more worth it. My suggestion, listen to it all the way through and just take it all in because there’s a lot to take in.
Written by: Chris Rugowski
Ratings: 8/10
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