Rock and roll is alive and well in East Lansing. Michigan State University’s resident rockers have broken into the local music loop and are gaining momentum fast. After over 2 years of trial by fire, closed doors, and unreturned phone calls, Breathing Aether has reached their stage. With steady shows in a slew of venues around mid-Michigan, the band has been turning heads and building a following.

Two years ago, however, uncertainty was the bottom line for Breathing Aether. Vocalist and guitarist Matt Mitchell and bassist Joe Hines began writing music in an East Lansing basement and set out to find a drummer and second guitarist. Audition after audition left the band incomplete until a huge break came when Mitchell’s longtime friend Shawn Farzam stepped up and took the throne behind the drums. Now a sufficient ensemble, the trio still persisted in their search for a rhythm guitarist to beef up their sound and give more flexibility to the live performance. Mike Hines, Joe’s brother, was the lucky seventh attempt to fill the role—and the last. Mike had just enrolled at Michigan State University, where the rest of the band also attends, and joined after sitting in on a few practice sessions. "Mike was the perfect solution for the band," Mitchell says. "I couldn't ask for a better guitar player for our style and sound.” With the members set in stone, Breathing Aether was ready to get out of the basement and take some of their brewing music with them. Within weeks of adding Mike, the band began their first of two recording sessions that would become their first album.

Their self-titled debut album, Breathing Aether, completed in the Spring of 2006, is a dynamic but focused rock composition from start to finish. The record wastes no time and gets right down and dirty with the opening track “Temptation.” The distinct vocals and heavy, riff-laden guitars are backed up with forceful drums and grooving bass to set the tone for the remaining eight tracks. The compilation takes a break from the fast-paced hard rock with the song “Stand Up.” Reminiscent of early nineties Seattle grunge, gritty guitars are set with driving bass and a screaming solo. The album ends with the moving track “Palm Springs,” a heartbroken acoustic story which features Mitchell’s emotional but powerful voice along with his lamenting blues soloing. The song was entirely written in the days prior to recording, and was done in one take, making it a very last minute, but worthy addition.

With Breathing Aether still warm from the presses, the band was not content to stop at any milestone, and continued to write new, even more diverse music. The new songs can most easily be described as a molten blend of classic and modern rock with influences ranging from blues to country with a dark underlying element, and the same barefaced instrumentalism that defines Breathing Aether in their first album.