The Satellite reviewed The Union Forever in its April 5 issue:

Gainesville indie pop trio Building Rockets have released their debut CD, The Union Forever, after forming the band a couple of years ago. Building Rockets is comprised of singer-songwriter S. Steven Heath, who plays guitar (the CD does not have instrument credits, but I may also hear some mandolin in there), and the husband-wife rhythm section of Russell Johnson on bass and Megan Johnson on drums.

Given the Johnsons' hard-rocking local music pedigree (Sick Dick and the Volkswagens, Superjudge and others), the pairing with Heath's often softer and somewhat artier songs might seem an odd pairing, but Building Rockets works well, with the rhythm section keeping it simple and letting the spotlight fall on the vocals and songwriting.

The sound here is usually soft-voiced vocals (the exception being the noise-fest "Your Name in Cursive") singing wry lyrics over layered guitars, most often one with distortion and one played "clean," with both drenched in tons of reverb. If that sounds like Building Rockets are stylistically in the same ballpark as Jesus and Mary Chain and some of the "shoegazer" post-psychedelic indie bands, then go to the head of the class, dear reader.

Some great phrases are turned here as well. From "My Exploding Head:" "now I'm drinking whiskey by the gallon, looking like Jim Morrison, but I'm feeling Woody Allen." And, on the travails of songwriting: "I got the feelin' I'm no Bob Dylan."

Maybe not, but this is darn good.

-Brian Kruger
Copyright 2006 Satellite Magazine.

March 19, 2006

InSite Magazine reviewed The Union Forever in its March issue:

Sometime while we weren't looking, Ben Gibbard and Sufjan Stevens had a lovechild, and upon its birth it was given distortion. Its name: Building Rockets. The Gainesville trio's debut album, The Union Forever, offers up an eclectic collection of tunes crunched into just over half an hour.

The Union Forever begins very much in Stevens' style of presenting a concept, but the songs take a turn for the rockier as the album progresses, echoing the likes of the Flaming Lips. The lyrics throughout are written in a narrative style, which allow the music to carry the tale from one song to the next. A steady alternation between acoustic and electric also adds to the complexity of their first collection, doing justice to the genre of distorted emo.

The second track, "The Maginot Line," stands out as the highlight of the album and sets a solid foundation for everything else, leading up to the melancholy final track "Magnetic North." Check out www.buildingrockets.com or myspace.com/buildingrockets for more info on this young band. If you are curious about their live show like I am, they will be performing at 1982 on March 30.

-Eric Dorman
Copyright 2006 InSite Magazine