Aster Tracks

PACKS’ new record doesn’t have a definitive beginning, the first track, “89 Days” feels, in a way, like track two. It’s a song making use of something we aren’t quite familiar with and utilizing it as if we are. Interestingly enough, the outro to the track feels like it should be the beginning of the entire project. This disjointed step into Melt the Honey feels like a statement within itself, almost as if this band is implying, they need no real introduction. Just like its introduction, this record feels like a walk-through nature. One half of its intent is odd, nature-inspired prog-rock. The other half is not-quite-standout but certainly proficient indie rock. My issue comes when I’m pulled from the scenery to stare at a photograph of it. So much of the material here feels like I’m standing right outside of it and can’t feel it on my skin. There was a vision here, these musicians had the ability to realize it, but they got lost along the way. For example, the emotion on “Pearly Whit...

Hello and welcome to Claudia’s kitchen, I am drafting this review while making dinner. Having previously only known Cheekface through reputation I can safely say It’s Sorted is a tight record. I don’t mean tight in the lame-cool guy way a song here would say, I mean I can tell this trio of artists who love making things together, they put a lot of their artistry and, from what I think I hear, all of their voices as well. I am infatuated with the backing vocals on this album. From the wee-oos and the warning; “This is private property!” on “Popular 2” to the “left-right-left-right” instruction on “I Am Continuing to Do My Thing.” Also there’s guitar solos? Like a lot of them and they’re all rad as Hell! When’s the last time you genuinely liked a guitar solo? The backing vocals aren’t the only thing of note in terms of singing. I never really know how to approach this style of deadpan lead vocals because I can never tell if it's genuine, if it’s trying to sell a bit or if it’s just e...

Remember the year end list where I said I’d review more hip hop? The Legend of ABM, as a record, stands out to me mostly because of its production, the beats and instrumentals presented are really incredible. In no way do I feel most of these are supposed to be backdrops to any vocals. Songs like “FNA” have entire pauses for effect, really enthralling you into what’s going on instrumentally. Real horror movie-esque tension and very effective. The downside to this, however, is for all the gem beats there are quite a few which blur together on repeat listens. Tracks like “Suicidal Tendencies” and “Dead Men Tell No Lies” are fine songs but feel like they’re pieces of a greater whole. I’m always careful when it comes to reviewing lyrics which don’t apply to me but in this case what I will say I admire is the messages around community and youth. The opening two tracks of the record as well as “Dead Men” later on call out the younger generation specifically to inspire them to make moves to c...

Hello and welcome (back?) to AsterTracks! With a new year we wanted a fresh start so I wanted to come on here and introduce myself and explain the blog in its 2024 season. I took a little break from writing about music for the first couple of months of the year. Except I didn't. We did already post three reviews to the blog feed in January and February and we also covered a new Wave Break song for Left of the Dial.  Now, however, we're back for real, there will be new reviews every weekday (unless we feel a little short, in which case we'll skip Fridays) starting with this triple EP review. Below are reviews for three EPs from the month of January. We'll try to do these hybrid EP and update episodes once a month. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean a certain time of month. More like we'll post all the reviews we had locked and loaded for the given month and when we run out it'll be time for an EP episode. I recognize my slow start to the year as well as the f...

Before Green Day made billboards about “Swedish songwriters” and released one of the worst records in modern rock music they were a legendary Californian punk outfit. 1994’s Dookie is the peak of the band to many, it’s a record where a lot of the most well-known Green Day tracks come from and has influenced countless artists to start their own careers. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the band has released a massive deluxe edition clocking in at about three hours. If I’m being honest, I’m not going to listen to a three-hour reissue. What I thought would be fun though, is to look at the original record with the AsterTracks eye. It’s interesting to me how a lot of the stuff Green Day is known for comes up on these older records and not the more consumer ready alternative albums put out the decade after. Billie Joe Armstrong’s weird little enunciations, the popping percussion, it all starts right here. Even the comically long jam sessions that the band is known for live sort of ori...

In November 2023 I caught an Eliza McLamb set in Portland opening for illuminati hotties. From there I heard some of the singles as well as the Salt Circle EP but always hoped for a full length from Eliza. Now we’ve come full circle, the true debut is here and has i.h.’s Sarah Tudzin on production. Going Through It is sort of dual-genre with some lower and moodier folk songs and a couple of indie rock cuts as well. The folk tracks are sort of what you’d expect of the genre and aren’t sonically much to write home about but what makes them highlights is McLamb’s exceptional vocal ability as well as the way she shakes up tracks in short little bursts. Opening track “Before” for example has a conclusion where its percussion picks up, its mood totally shifts before coming to a sort of abrupt end. These rock moments are all so interesting to me because they come so fast and potent before all ducking back and getting into the main focus on the project as a whole. There are some anomalous mome...

Hello and happy new year! Only a month late! This is the second review of the year. The first was posted yesterday via Left of the Dial. Every year I take a little break from posting reviews for the first month or so of the year. There aren’t a lot of moments in those first few weeks. This time there was, however, most of my timeline was posting about The Cons of Being a Wallflower, the debut record from Brooklyn-based, queer DIY indie star, eevie echoes, in the second week of ‘24. The excitement around this record was the first I had heard of this particular artist, so I was excited to see what was making such a commotion. Wallflower opens with “24,” a ska track about the trappings of capitalism, how it suffocates artistry and pressures youth into adapting a toxic mindset about the workforce and leadership. All of this is presented very eloquently, however it does so over a pretty par-the-course ska instrumental. In a vacuum I think the song is fine, especially so early in the year wh...