Completely his trilogy of solo works, Aaron Orbit released his new EP X O A O available now. The EP follows Orbit’s previous releases EP M.E.C.O. and LP Monolith. X O A O is described as a mix of the two and a way to end the final chapter of this story. Aaron Orbit was born into music, with his father being an accomplished musician, Orbit learned the guitar in elementary school. This quickly led to Orbit being in a variety of bands including 8STOP7, who was signed to Reprise Records, Orbit played guitar and sang backup vocals. In 2011, during his hiatus of playing in bands, he found the love for his solo career and has been releasing under the name “Aaron Orbit” ever since.
X O A O has an inspired rock, theatrical sound. Orbit has the ability to play with various levels of intensity throughout his tracks – making each one a standout. The project starts with “Papier-Mâché,” which is a unique concept and brilliantly executed. The production sits in both ears, immersive and controls the sound in a way that lyrics can still be heard excellently. One of the strongest lines throughout the song is, “slipping sound with no ground left below us / something in the room / call it papier-mâché.” It shows the feeling and look of Papier-Mâché, which is not too easy to do.
“Ever After” is a great example of a song that captures a fairytale, epic feeling. The seven-minute song has plenty of room to build, starting with a catchy piano melody and picking up with layering vocals. The chorus flies in with “All of these days rolling together / all of these days feeling like ever after.” At the midpoint there is a speaking part about having a change of perspective with a smooth saxophone solo. The experimental ideas keep a rather long track interesting as well as captivating. During the first listen all one could think is, “What will Orbit do next?” It felt like there was no wrong answer.
The project ends with “Better Than This.” Immediately, the listener is stripped from the large band sound and met with an acoustic guitar and a piano. It has a sadder tone about giving up on someone you don’t want to give up on. The majority of the lyrics being questions in the verses is the perfect way to paint what is like to be left with nothing but questions. Orbit sings,” Have you made up your mind? / Is there a fork in the road? We could always use more time.”
Overall, it is a great way to end such a full sounding record. Aaron Orbit pours his heart out on X O A O with grace and power. The EP shows skill in writing, producing, and instrumentation. Orbit was both born into and born for music. His gift and grit are exciting to watch from start to end.
Written by Katie Power
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