Aqueous - Color Wheel (2018)

The first track, “Second Sight”, opens up with a cosmic, groovy intro, before guitarist Mike Gantzer jumps in with his smooth vocals, backed by a steady beat laid down by Evan McPhaden on bass and Rob Houk on drums. Aqueous then moves into a heavy rock segment with Gantzer shredding away on guitar, as multi-instrumentalist David Loss continues to lay down the cosmic synthy-grooves, before Ganzter brings it all back together with the chorus. The second track, “How High You Fly”, starts off with a heavier tone, as Gantzer continues to shine on vocals and displays his dynamic range, hopping around from different keys as his band provides the perfect harmonies. Coming out of the main theme of the song, Aqueous moves in and out of their blissful twilight zone, with hints of hard-rock sprinkled in with Gantzer’s badass guitar work. The third and final track of Wave 1, “Realize Your Light”, opens up with an upbeat, trancey groove, moving into the verse’s slow and powerful buildups into the chorus. Gantzer soars into a solo, with some angel-like harmonies layered behind McPhaden and Houk’s infectious rhythm section, as the song slowly fades out.