Aster Tracks

VV - Neon Noir (Heartagram) You probably remember HIM, the Finnish “Love Metal” band that put the Heartagram on the map. Ten years from the final HIM album and six years from their final show thor vocalist, Vile Valo, has released his debut record as VV. On Neon Noir Valo actually summons his old self by creating even more of those classic HIM-brand songs. I wouldn’t consider this an album of the year contender to be honest. But in terms of novelty it’s nice to hear something new from a band I grew up listening to. I haven’t touched a HIM record in years but I can’t deny how important they were to me in middle school coming up as a music fan in my own right, so I didn’t want to just overlook this one. Support VV Cicada - Seeking the Sources of Streams (WINDIE Music) I switched day jobs this year from subs to coffee, (exciting I know) and as such I have to get up really early some days. So usually when I’m walking to my bus stop at five or six AM it helps to have something peaceful play...

At the tail end of last year Brooklyn black metal band Liturgy released As the Blood of God Bursts the Veins of Time , an EP that I really enjoyed for its tight knit variety and overall. technical proficiency. Most of that EP shows up as the title track to this new record; 93696. I, who am not usually a black metal fan, have casually enjoyed Liturgy in the past but after that EP I was hungry for a record and it did not disappoint.  The first thing that hits me about 93696 is actually the use of a capella throughout the entire record, which serves as both a break from intensity and as a tool to disarm the listener. The fact that the record opens with that is a great warm up, but also the way that opening track "Daily Bread" builds on itself is a great tension builder. That vocal track into the ringing into the pounding keys and then exploding into the following "Djennaration" is perfect in its execution. Even the transition between that track and the next one is per...

Last month, Urbana, OH's Kelc Galluzzo dropped this new collection of songs to BandCamp and to streaming a couple of weeks after. Songs I Wrote Instead of Killing Myself is presented as an audio diary dating between 2020 and 2023 and as such, I don't really feel comfortable reviewing this as a record, but I do want you to listen to these demos yourself and want to put up this suggestion piece. If you're unfamiliar with Jetty Bones as an artistic project it is, again, the solo act of Kelc Galluzzo. Galluzzo has been releasing music since around 2016 and lately has been focusing more so on her community than growing any sort of brand. I myself didn't know about Jetty Bones until 2021's Push Back which I really enjoyed for its mix of pop, country, emo and so many other types of music and it ended up being my second favorite album of that year overall. If you also enjoyed the 2021 release you may catch some glimpses of ideas tried here, then fine-tuned on that record. L...

The Arn-Horn sisters are back with their third EP. Last year’s Year of the Snake made my personal top ten EPs list last year and since its release over a year ago Softcult have gotten bigger and bigger. They toured with some pretty big names in the past year and as a result it seems like they’ve become more a known name in the scene. I myself have known about Softcult for years now but continue to be impressed by their output and admittedly didn’t, until recently, realize that they were part of the now-defunct Courage My Love. The only aspect of this band I’m not a fan of is that they show too much of their own hand before release day so this time I skipped all singles until I heard the entire project. Softcult are no strangers to singing about the state of the world, especially the dangers of men and misogyny. However on See You in the Dark they add a deeper, more personal spin on how badly the state of the world hurts that was never really present before. On opening track "Drain...

Wave Break is making a huge splash right now, having toured around the east coast including legendary NJ venues Stone Pony and House of Independents. Today they deliver new single "Spark" brought to you by their new permanent line up as well as the team over at ZK Productions who have worked with bands like Mayday Parade and Set it Off. I was fortunate enough to hear "Spark" a little early and feel really positive about the track as a whole. "Spark" opens with a nice, hopeful pop punk riff with some pretty intensive blast beat percussion in the background. This hopeful nature carries with the song's themes of wanting to fast forward through the bad straight to the good that life has to offer. It continues with just that energy and a bass riff that makes for an excellent segue from that intro. While I do not love the opening rhyme scheme; I’ve rebuilt this house so many times It fell each time right before my eyes I do love Kelly’s (Barber, singer, guit...

New York's Nikki Esposito has released debut record as Star Funeral on Count Your Lucky Stars. Esposito has only been dropping music since 2021 and all of it can be found on In the Dark . I myself came to this album solely for the track "Alone," which to me was a highlight of last year. "Alone" itself comes packed with melancholic tones that sound so sad and so desperate yet manage to also have the subtlety of sound sleep. For me as someone who really doesn't do well with periods of isolation this low cut indie track rang so loudly to me. Unfortunately though I think that very strength is where In the Dark also falls apart. I do think "Alone" is a great song but I do not think it's so great hearing its exact sonics over new themes over and over again for twenty-seven and a half minutes. Pretty much all of these songs are just emo tracks with very little variety to offer, save for "Half Whole, Half Empty." This seems to be the first so...

VA outfit pulses. are dropping “Different Strokes,” the second taste of their upcoming third record this Friday. This is the follow up to their last single from the same record; “Run the Ghouls,” which was ghoulishly heavy in contrast to the more pop inspired “XO (Sold Out),” both of which dropped last year. “Different Strokes” plays in similar spaces as “Ghouls,” which I was fortunate enough, once again, to hear before the general public. The song has a cold open, which begins “Different Strokes” with a sense of urgency, edge and danger that we haven’t seen too much of on pulses. end. The second time it comes around we get all the boys in and have that usual sense of a good time in the best way possible. I absolutely love how pulses. manages to make one riff have two totally different tones and emotions in under thirty seconds. The verses on this one are so huge, so heavy and these vocal takes are totally nasty in the best way. We’ve seen pulses. influences in the past and those show ...

Call Me If You Get Lost was a top ten for me in 2021 and now the leftover songs have dropped. Tyler did his usual strategy for this one; show up on social media, say there's music dropping and put it out almost as soon. On first listen I sort of wrote these b-sides off as throwaway tracks. Now that I've had about a week to sit with them, not only do I think I was wrong but I cannot stop listening. These being demos and b-sides is actually my only critique. Don't get me wrong, these are polished and they are quality. Tyler and DJ Drama even went out of their way to record new segues for them and Tyler even opens the bonus tracks by thanking the fans for the successful album cycle. There is an occasional leak in quality however. On the outro of "Stuntman" the final bar sounds a little out of place and appears to use a working title of the record that's pretty close but also noticeable. Then on "Sorry Not Sorry" there's a line where Tyler "apol...

The second EP from Chinese hyperpop and rap artist, Alice Longyu Gao has dropped. On this one Gao mostly gathers singles from the past couple of years in one place with a new cut or two to present as well. I personally have been a fan of Gao's music throughout the 2020s but have only heard singles here and there but was eager to hear a full project and now that I have I find it to be a bit of a mixed bag. The intro and title track, to me, comes off as a bit of a joke and feels like I shouldn't even review it as an actual song. While I'm of course all for, and quite a fan of, LQBT anthems I think that calling someone a "heterosexual guy" comes off as pretty clunky and awkward. There's some awkward call and responses to be found here as well with acronyms that don't quite make sense and weird brand callouts. I do enjoy this drop though and the fun club chants have a great vibe. Also want to point out that it took me until about the fifth listen to realize th...

In 2019, two kids from St. Louis, MO pioneered the entire hyperpop movement with their debut record. Since then it’s been quite a journey, at first being panned by listeners and critics before, seemingly overnight, winning almost everyone over and getting bigger and bigger doing so. I myself wasn’t really sold on 100 gecs until the remixed version of that debut arrived a year later. Which I was drawn to for its diverse list of features. Then as singles for this new record started dropping over the past two years I knew this was a record I wanted to hear. Now, finally, Laura Les and Dylan Brady have dropped the sophomore 100 gecs release, which is no slump. On 10,000 gecs the duo takes dips into many different genres and methods of delivery just like on that remix project, only this time they don’t need any help doing it. There’s been a lot of talk about the nu metal influence and that's apparent immediately when you hit play and of course with nu metal comes hip hop and heavy metal...