New US progressive rock group, Ascher, release their debut album ‘Beginnings’ today, March 16th. The album, containing five instrumental pieces and four songs, clocks in at fifty-seven minutes. From the opening instrumental title track to the bonus track closer, “The Instrumental Divide,” the album flows seamlessly through a sonic landscape of guitar-driven rock, vintage keyboard wizardry, and a lofty hook-laden ballad. The instrumental pieces power through enough time signature and meter changes to keep the die-hard prog fan happy while the thought provoking songs reveal a more grounded down to earth feel.
To coincide with the release of the album, Ascher has released video for the track, “What the World Can’t Give,” which you can see here:
The band features Doug Bowers (Guitars/Keys/Bass/Vocals), Blake Dickeson (Rhythm Guitars), Rob Perez (Lead Guitar), and Kyle Graves (Lead Vocals).
Beginnings will be available via the band’s Bandcamp page as well as all digital music retailers and streaming sites. Lyrics are also available on Ascher’s Bandcamp page.
https://ascher1.bandcamp.com/album/beginnings
Tracklisting:
1. Beginnings (6:03)
2. In the Clear Distance (5:07)
3. The Great Divide (7:44)
4. Ransom For the Righteous (6:19)
5. De Profundis (7:58)
6. Nail Soup (5:27)
7. What the World Can’t Give (6:03)
8. Wheels Turning Now (4:12)
Doug Bowers (Ad Astra, KDB3, Vertical Alignment) and Rob Perez (Visual Cliff, Bluesyndrome) have been collaborating on one another’s projects for years. A short-lived band formed in 2021 and disbanded in early 2022 yielded many co-written instrumental pieces that never saw the light of day. Toward the end of 2022, Doug began collaborating with guitarist, Blake Dickeson, fleshing out some musical ideas that Blake had developed over the years, Rob was brought in to add tasty lead guitar to the effort. When Rob suggested that the trio revisit some of the unfinished instrumental pieces, it was decided that a band might be the best expression of their growing repertoire. Thus Ascher was born. It quickly became apparent that Doug was not up to singing the melodies he was writing for his lyrics and the search for a proper singer was soon underway. Rob suggested a singer that he had recently encountered. Kyle Graves was writing lyrics for an upcoming album for Rob and Rob felt he would be a perfect fit for Ascher. Rob was right and the band was complete.
