Get to Know: The Exotic Aquatic
There is nothing exotic nor aquatic about this band - but they write some catchy tunes.
New Jersey - that magical place of gardens and accents. It always seems that some irate New Yorker has a thing or two to say about New Jersey. New York may have the more eclectic music scene, but Jersey is ready to compete with its offspring - native band the Exotic Aquatic. Front man Jason Soroka is no stranger to the music industry. Soroka started playing in bands with fellow Exotic Aquatic member Ryan Turner in high school and released his music independently on his co-owned DIY label Howland Circle. As the years went on, Soroka and Turner added friend Brian Pho to the group to give their songs a bigger sound for their east coast tour. Two years and a dozen shows later, Soroka sat down with the band and some of their friends to forge their debut EP Where I Used to Sleep.
Though as a band Exotic Aquatic has only existed for a few years, each member’s strength in music makes Where I Used to Sleep sound like it’s been a labor of love rather than need. The album, out November 4th on iTunes and in Hot Topic stores nationwide, features Soroka’s strong songwriting and the band’s pension for idiosyncratic arrangements. Where I Used to Sleep shows the band’s experience in the industry as a whole without being pretentious or overbearing. Exotic Aquatic may have something to prove, but the EP makes the task effortless to new listeners. “Singularity” is simplistic in style, only one acoustic guitar and a couple of claps accompanying Soroka’s lyrics. But there’s something more going on than what we see on the surface. Right from the opening lyric, “I slept inside your stomach until 1989” we’re drawn into the world Soroka creates within the song and feel a strong connection to the message he portrays within it. Exotic Aquatic has this uncanny ability to immediately inspire an emotional connection to every song, which makes listening to Where I Used to Sleep that much more enjoyable.
“Factory” is the perfect track to describe the energy of Exotic Aquatic. It’s happy, yet still has a darker element to it that doesn’t make it as bouncy as it feels. Maybe it’s Soroka’s deep resonating voice or maybe it’s the mysterious way the guitar loops around the piano part. Whatever it is, it’s something that hits you right where it counts.
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Oct 28, 2008 @ 7:00 am