Transmissions

Cinematic sci-fi rockers Starset deliver their debut Transmissions, a concept album brimming with ambition and detail. Under the directive of a character named Dr. Ashton Wise, the Ohio-based band claims to be acting as the mouthpiece for the Starset Society, a fictional collective whose aim is to publish major scientific discoveries that have been silenced by the government and other agents. The album is centered around a supposed transmission of human origin that was broadcast from the constellation Ophiuchus, which foretells the future and demise of mankind. Led by charismatic frontman Dustin Bates (frontman for Downplay), Starset set up an elaborate online presence (complete with scientific videos, documents, links to shadowy agencies, etc.) leading up to the album's eventual release. The first two singles, "Carnivore" and "My Demons," appeared in 2013, introducing the band's dramatic style, which includes electronic elements, strings, heavy alt-rock, and more mysterious samples than an entire season of X-Files. ~ Timothy Monger