College rock – the reverential indie music of thirty somethings from their heyday – which, if not fully deceased, has taken drastic mutative forms resembling anything but its original incarnation. But in 28 Degree Taurus, the spirit of this music still lives on as if it was 1990 and MTV had a show called 120 Minutes hosted by Dave Kendall.

The band’s second full-length release, All The Stars In Your Eyes, doesn’t deviate a tiny bit from the ‘90s Boston college rock sound of their previous release, How Do You Like Your Love. However, the band has mellowed out to a rather folky approach with this record. All The Stars isn’t as psychedelic. It has longing and romance in its heart, and astral ballads are what mostly define this disc.

Jinsen Liu’s trademark muted guitar notes form an ethereal backdrop for some of the band’s most wistful and hopeful songs, with lyrics like “Get in the car / We’re gonna go for another one way ride / I know that you love me, that’s all that matters / Out of sunrise if we could make it ‘til morning then we could start a new life” (“Sun Chaser”), “Maybe someday in a place far away we could start a new life and leave this far far behind” (“Midnight Heat”), and “Through all of our ups and downs / We still made it through this time” (“Sometime Anytime”).

The teenage chagrin that defined college rock is alive on this effort. But instead of discontent, there is hope and a yearning. Karina Dacosta’s cooing, juvenile vocals sing of adolescent hopes and dreams with heartwarming romanticism.

28 Degree Taurus embraces the whole poor college band image with pride and style. The griminess of the production compliments the scraggy alt sound that a sleeker approach might surely have ruined. The music in all respects is as special as indie rock was a generation ago, perfect for those still sentimentally attached to a different kind of music scene altogether.

Rating: B+

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