Aster Tracks

  Tulsa, OK’s CLIFFDIVER have released their debut record Exercise Your Demons on SideOneDummy Records. This is a band that I wasn’t familiar with before singles for this project yet have material dating back to at least 2018. I wanted to cover and highlight this band for the fact that their big tour off the release of this record was stopped in its tracks due to a COVID case in the band but as I started to dive deeper in to get familiar it became so much more. This record not only impressed me in terms of quality but really hit me in the deepest recesses of the current state of my mental health in the best way. The band get’s you in the door with a fun ska rager on “New Vegas Bomb.” This song, which was also the first single, features Skatune Network, whose involvement I do not know the full extent of but given the knowledge I have of that project and the context offered in the video I can only assume they helped co write the tracks bridge. The lines and vocals the record kicks off o

  Silverstein, I think anyway, needs no real introduction at this point. The legendary post-hardcore band have just reached their tenth album milestone with Misery Made Me. Now, not to spoil the review ahead but my opinions of this record have changed pretty swiftly in the month I’ve had with it. Originally I felt as though this was an all-out demonstration of a band finally truly pushing themselves though sort of failing to stick the ending toward the end. However, now I sort of see it for what it is; see below. The first taste of the record, “Bankrupt,” was released in 2021 and even made my top ten singles of the year in December. It was the first time in the history of the scene that I had witnessed a band claim their heaviest track was coming and they delivered on that promise. What I was expecting from the single was something along the lines of a Target commercial but what I got instead was a heavy, in your face, post-hardcore rager with killer parts and a huge message of fighti

  Dumfries, Virginia’s own pulses. have teamed up with Zac Benson to bring us the first episode of their third season as a band with “XO (Sold Out).” Well, to be exact, they will hit us with the drop this coming Friday. If you’ve followed this blog you may recall that not only did pulses. make my top ten albums of 2020 , then my top ten EPs of 2021 , I also released a triple album review where I talked about the three Speak releases all at once. Now the band has let me peek behind the scenes to give you a bit of an early review of their new single. The track opens with a riff that really sticks with you in that there is a real progressive rock element to it and yet it is also very laid back. I think a major factor of what makes this work so well is not only does it come back up multiple times in the song, it’s totally isolated every time as it should be, it’s that good. Then the track explodes with the line; “Time to wake up! Don’t be late!” Prepare yourselves for that chorus becaus

  New South Wales pop punk band Stand Atlantic have released their third record, fuck everything and run, or simply f.e.a.r. This is quite an important moment in AsterTracks history as last week I celebrated my 100th posting on this blog and now we get to do a follow up to what was my album of the year on the first year I was writing about music; Pink Elephant. A record that I enjoyed for its diversity and that the album rollout really owned my attention for the majority of that year. Although I do look at 2020 a bit differently now and find that I’m more attuned to a different record from it in the current year there’s no doubting how I felt in the heat of the moment. So, for post 101 to be the record after that just felt appropriate, especially given the commercial status of StAt now and I don’t feel the need to direct you to them, more just give you my interpretation. There were a lot of singles leading up to this record including “deathwish’, which feels a bit old at this point. I

  #10: A Lot Like Birds - No Place (Equal Vision, 2013) In 2009, I had gotten into Dance Gavin Dance on the heels of Happiness, what many perceive to be their best record. Then lead vocalist Kurt Travis was and continues to be one of the most admired in the progressive post-hardcore scene. Be it for his two iconic DGD records, his solo work, or his countless other records with a myriad of other bands and projects spanning all sorts of genres on the outskirts of post-hardcore. To me, where he always shone brightest, was A lot Like Birds. Travis joined this band for their second and third records right after being asked to leave DGD so that they may embark on their “last tour” with their original line up. We’ll get to that record in a bit, because we’re here right now to talk about No Place. As I said, the second A lot Like Birds record, Conversation Piece, was Travis’ first with the band and I remember when I heard the single “THINK DIRTY OUT LOUD” I was absolutely blown away. I looked