On Thursday, Oct. 22, the campus got a visit from a local New Haven band who drew a hefty crowd to the German Club.

José Oyola & The Astronauts describe themselves as experimental indy-pop, which is absolutely a fitting description for their set list. The most noticeable thing about this band is their instrumentation, more specifically the featuring of a flute and keyboard that almost completely replaced where guitar parts would generally be.

The front man provided lead vocals and occasionally, a sparse supplemental guitar part which gave personality to the band.

He had an interactive roll singing in the audience as well as in his vibrant appearance.

Within their forty-five-minute set, José Oyola & The Astronauts demonstrated a very coherent and consistent sound with songs that almost seemed to bleed into each other with similarity.

With western and Spanish influences injected into every tune, the stand out features of this group were the bass and drum parts.

Anyone who can play silky smooth walking bass lines on a six string automatically earns respect and the minimal yet strategic use of cymbal hits served as the glue that held the songs together.

The last song was unique in that it featured jazz style solos by both the flute and bass player showcasing the musicianship that each brought to the band. Most students that came to the performance seemed to really enjoy the show while others simply explained that their music is simply a more acquired taste. It is true that José Oyola & The Astronauts’ music is not for everyone, the appearance of more diverse musical groups on campus is refreshing something that will hopefully be seen more in the future. Their Album Hologram is set to release on November 7 from The University of New Haven’s very own Purebred Records.