With the seven tracks on their debut album running for over 50 minutes, Melbourne’s Alithia are obviously partial to a good epic.
Opening track Thirteen Revelations sets out their self-described ‘astral space core’ stall with symphonic synth-guitar firewalls, shimmering progressive house riffs and heavens-aimed emotional trajectory in the vocal department. Formed in 2004 and with two EPs under their space codpiece, the band hail from the thriving Australian prog-psych scene also populated by Jerrico, Voyager and The Red Paintings, but they recorded the album in Budapest with esteemed producer Daniel Sandor. Such an accomplished knob-twiddler was a wise choice as Alithia’s widescreen interstellar whoopee requires the same kind of high-tech panoramic enormity as the Muses of this world, such as on the spectacular space doo-wop of Here I Am. Bolstered by guests including New York’s MC Illspokinn, violinist Matisz Flora and ex-Poison Of Marvel/Exe frontman Locsei Bence, the epic scope of outings such as Sacrifice, Satellites and climactic The Veil ignite the kind of emotional fireworks that could send the world’s festival stages into orbit.
