Print, Reviews February 21, 2019

Album Review: Race To Neptune – Abandon Fashion

by Jay Wallace

Abandon Fashion from Fort Collins’ Race To Neptune is a sturdy four track EP and one of the better modern interpretations of early ‘90s grunge and alternative rock. With it’s distortion, crashing cymbals and guitar and mic feedback, it’s reminiscent of the music that followed hair metal’s death in the ‘80s. But this is not a throwback album. Race to Neptune have enough of their own sensibility and style – a permeating sense of fun and experimentation which makes the EP stick out in the alternative rock scene.

In a general sense, this is probably the most truly “alternative” rock album we’ve come across lately. It could have very easily gotten airtime on MTV in the early ‘90s, but there is a sense of craftsmanship in the compositions and stylistic touches sprinkled throughout Abandon Fashion which set it apart. On top of this, Race to Neptune doesn’t really possess the underlying seething/anger present in classic grunge. There’s an eclectic playfulness to their vibe. “Sunsets,” for instance, is an upbeat song about going to California, while the EP opener “Mortal Melody” is a rowdy party-starter with a long instrumental opening which fills well over half the song.

Abandon Fashion’s title track, which closes out the EP, is an unexpectedly instrumental track, and it’s an excellent one. It begins spacey and ominous before launching into a proper hard rock form. No singing. This kind of scribbling in the margins, so to speak, is what sets artists apart from wannabes, carving Race To Neptune’s identity into the NoCo scene.

We should mention, this isn’t Race to Neptune’s first album. They put out a full length album in 2016 titled Oh Contraire, taking time off until they released both Abandon Fashion and their single “The Phantom Deep” in May of 2018. While only four songs long, Abandon Fashion is an excellent return for R.T.N. and a slow-burner for sure.

Check out Abandon Fashion at racetoneptune.bandcamp.com and catch Race To Neptune live in Fort Collins at Pinball Jones Campus West on March 1.