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Shoegazers in space. Ester Drang follow the lead of My Bloody Valentine and early Starflyer 59 with their slow-tempo swirling distortion and soft vocals, but this is further out there. It's at the edge of the galaxy. Picture yourself all alone in a deserted, dilapidated space station, with some faraway pretty pop music drifting through the zero-gravity solitude. Except the frequent feedback, distorted drum breaks, and occasional electronic beeps make it sound like a bad frequency with too much treble and interference from other signals. Song titles like "One Hundred Seventeen Days Adrift" further accent the whole lost in space vibe.

There's something artistic, serious, and potentially important about it all, but that is when he turns us golden is not going to do it for most people. Despite the consistent drum beats and keyboard/guitar foundation, it's all too loose. There's not enough substance of song to hold onto, and the tracks are mostly way too short. It would make for hip background noise for the indie-rocker if it was only longer, but small chance of that now.

No lyric sheet either -- an annoying habit of bands like this, who want to sound like they have something to say but find some pleasure in hiding it from us. Still, you can make out lines like "Your love's all I need," "You're with me always," and "I know I'll make it through with you," which point to a definite and hopeful dependence that the Creator will rescue them from their aimless drifting among the stars. Let's hope he provides them with a spiffy new spaceship full of real songs they can share next time. --Josh Spencer