Aurganic: Deviations Review: A New Dynamic Duo in Experimental Indie

Even if there wasn’t before, Michael Kossov and Leo Pisaq are the new Batman and Robin of experimental Indie Music. Powered by stellar musicianship and charismatic guest vocal appearances, the long-time pals’ second album together, “Deviations,” is anything but a transition to mediocrity. A combination of mellow soul and sometimes gritty, grungy alternative, the band also experiments with jazz, punk and electronica in “Deviations.” The result is a multi-faceted auditory experience that continually creep its way on to your iPod’s recently played playlist.

Often times duos lack the sound volume and depth to make your ears think. But within minutes, Kossov and Pisaq are able to turn you into a believer. Their sound is full. Their lyrics and instrumentals are sound. Mission accomplished.

The sonic offerings on “Deviations” are essentially like an all you can eat buffet. There’s something for everyone. The album’s title track starts off like the legendary Carpenters song, “Close to you,” but quickly becomes a more melodic rock instrumental that goes perfectly with a dimly lit room and a drink.

“Choices” will quickly remind many of ‘90s grunge powerhouse Bush, with a an emotional opening on guitar, but featured vocalist Joel Goguen changes things up with a moody then abruptly gritty chorus. This gives the song a more pissed off, The Fray, type of sound. The added elements of electronica and distortion add another layer in what is easily a standout song on the album.

“Southbound,” one of the few tracks not featuring a guest vocalist also possesses a largely rock base. The quick vocal track has elements of punk, but for the most part it’s just a rocking track that goes a long way in showcases the band’s diversity.

Although it’s obvious the band is better when the sound is mellow (“Lucid” and “Outcast” have this almost wavy feel to them.) the difference from track to track is a huge selling point for the album.

The sound experimentation continues with “Easy,” as guest vocalist Jessica Stuart has this Erykah Badu soul/jazz thing going on that doesn’t fit the rest of the album, but is definitely pleasing. Like “The Lost and Found” with Scott Carruthers on vocals, the band proves that they can mellow out just as much as they rock out.

With such a variety to their sound and unique collaborations, Aurganic is a band that’ll throw knuckleballs at your ears. But unlike many of the hurlers who throw the pitch, they’ll hit the strike zone far more often than they miss.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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