Per Aspera ad Astra is the fourth studio LP by Stars of the Lid

Stars of the Lid

Stars of the Lid is a duo specializing in drone-based ambient music. They list among their influences minimalist and electronic composers such as Arvo Pärt, Zbigniew Preisner, Gavin Bryars, and Henryk Górecki, as well as Talk Talk , post-rock artists Labradford, and ambient innovator Brian...

. It was made in collaboration with artist

Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

 Jon McCafferty and released on Kranky Records

Kranky Records

Kranky is an independent record label, located in Chicago, Illinois. It was started in 1993 by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental and often electronic influences with elements of more traditional rock structures, and many of the artists on Kranky...

 in 1998. Widely known in music circles as the artist behind the cover of R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

's Green, McCafferty approached Stars of the Lid with a view towards collaboration after working on a series of paintings inspired by the duo's 1995 debut Music for Nitrous Oxide

Music for Nitrous Oxide

Music for Nitrous Oxide is the first studio album released by Stars of the Lid on Sedimental Records in 1995. The album features minimal, droning compositions of varying length...

. The title is a common Latin phrase

Per Aspera Ad Astra

Per aspera ad astra is a Latin phrase meaning "through hardships to the stars" and is the motto of many organizations. It may also refer to:* Per Aspera Ad Astra , a 1981 Soviet science fiction film...

 translatable as "through hardships, to the stars."

Line notes

Stars of the Lid elaborated on the album's reasoning on its inner sleeve.

Critical reaction

The album was generally received well by critics. John Bush, writing for Allmusic, stated:

Track listing

1. "Low Level (Listening) Part 1" – 6:22
2. "Low Level (Listening) Part 2" – 8:42
3. "Low Level (Listening) Part 3" – 5:29
4. "Anchor States Part 1" – 4:27
5. "Anchor States Part 2" – 8:51
6. "Anchor States Part 3" – 6:46