“Earsplitting noise pop” is how Youngstown favorite, Asleep describes their music, and there are no better words for it. It is clear this genre-bending band has matured since their last full record All These Things We’ll Never Need. The release of their new 14-track record, Between Above and Below, serves to widen their audience but we still get a taste of the Asleep we knew and loved. They are slowly jogging toward the pop scene and a larger 14-year-old girl fan base with songs such as “Who I Am,” and “Miasma”, but they haven’t quite crossed the finish line yet, as there is still a distinct rock edge. Asleep manages to remain true to their original musical endeavors with tracks “The Machine in the Ghost” and “Crusading”, which features harder rock instrumentals and their infamous high-pitched vocalist (who loves to spit water into the crowd at live shows- Watch out!) Equipped with a new drummer, the band takes us in a new experimental direction with more decipherable vocals and stronger, more focused song writing.  They even slow it down for a minute and bring a piano into the mix with the ballad “Hosts,” but go right back into pop-rocking on the next track. The album is highly listenable if not somewhat schizophrenic.- Jessica Lumpp