n late 2003 instrumentalist Tony Hamera alongside neoteric vocalist Kate Hinote, began collaborating musically exploring a wide range of sonic landscapes and textures: from ethereal dreamscapes to hook-laden indie pop to swirling detonations of feedback and noise. Drawing inspiriation from the UK's no-wave and shoegaze movements, Ether Aura sites bands such as Joy Division, The Cure, The Smiths, Velvet Underground, and Cocteau Twins as major influences in the development of their sound. Rounding out this incarnation is drummer William King, Bret Haupt playing bass, and Alex Bongiorno providing rhythm guitar. Summer 2005 saw the release of their debut CD, Crash. Crash was met with praise and enthusiasm from listeners eager for their rare brand of blissed-out indie rock. From Graveconcerns Webzine: "Ether Aura will likely please shoegazers, goths, and alt rockers alike with their debut, Crash. A heaping portion of Curve with smaller parts Lush, Garbage, and Cocteau Twins, Crash is a rhythmic, atmospheric slice of female-fronted, shoegaze-infused alt rock permeated by effects-laden guitar work and shaped into an almost undeniably impressive, if slightly derivative, debut. Immaculately produced with apparent attention to sonic layering and detail, it's a blend of more straightforward, bass-driven alt rock skeletal structures and swirling atmospheric guitar. Ether Aura's Crash is a very solid outing, both energetic and emotive, with a handful of particularly exceptional tracks that warrant plenty of repeat play. Curve fans will either love them or, given the reaction of many Curve fans to Garbage, point out their similarities to Curve every chance they get. However, that said, Crash is a spectacular and dynamic alternative rock outing with heavy shoegazer and goth leanings......" From AllMusic.com: "From the ashes of Detroit gothic rockers Caelum Bliss and the electro-tinged Deathgirl.com comes Ether Aura. Crash, their debut, is a stunning piece of neo-shoegaze dream pop, an invigorating if slightly derivative mixture of Curve and Cocteau Twins. Opener "All Doves Grey" sets the table for the feast to come: Tony Hamera's soaring, fuzz-drenched guitar couples with Bret Haupt's equally distorted bass, William King's nimble kit work underlines and punctuates the vibe, and Kate Hinote's emotion-drenched vocals top everything off, evoking the blissed-out sound of early-period Lush. Over the course of 11 tracks, this would get perhaps a little tiring, but Ether Aura mix it up enough to keep the listener on his toes. "6 Days Yesterday" is a straight-up pop song that would have been huge if My Bloody Valentine had kept making records and paved the way for bands like this to become popular. "Falling" sounds like what Cocteau Twins would sound like, had they continued their sound past Milk & Kisses. Fans of the bands mentioned as comparators here will be pleased. This is well-executed shoegaze, and there's not much of that going around anymore." Ether Aura continues to play in the Metro Detroit area while impressing new listeners around the world via the World Wide Web. In February 2007 they independently released their sophomore effort, Before We Could Sing.

Alex Bongiorno

Guitar

Bret Haupt

Bass/Vocals

Kate Hinote

Vocals

Tony Hamera

Guitars/FX

William King

the Drums