Ekko Astral – Pink Balloons LP pink / blue

pink balloons opener “head empty blues” specifically bites back against the terrors of the normative male gaze that dominates so much of American culture. Over a post-punk passage that plays call and response with a wall of harsh noise, frontwoman Jael Holzman belts playfully morbid details of the head-exploding anxieties that haunt her daily: “is it bon eye-ver or bon iver? / i don’t care / i’ve got stalkers outside / not going out tonight / gonna sit and take pics / in my underwear.”

Holzman formed the band in 2021 with best friend Liam Hughes (guitar), and eventually rounded out the band’s lineup with Miri Tyler (drums), Guinevere Tully (bass), and Sam Elmore (guitar). Ekko Astral’s local scene quickly welcomed the band for their wildly fierce live presence, emboldened by the community-building message behind the band’s mascara mosh pit brand.

Ultimately, Ekko Astral are here to uplift, a mission exemplified by the frenetic and bewitching pre-release singles “baethoven” and “devorah,” cornerstones of pink balloons in both style and theme. The former serves as a reminder to keep your larger than life personality in a world that wants to downsize you, where the latter proclaims urgent solidarity with missing and murdered people. Such crucial messages of upliftment are the foundation of pink balloons, and, by extension Ekko Astral, whose thrashing debut leaves no stone of solidarity unturned.

Label: Topshelf Records (2) – TSR279

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo

Country: US

Released: 2024

Genre: Rock

Style: Punk, Art Rock, Indie Rock, No Wave, Noise Rock, Post-Punk, Post-Hardcore

Tracklist

A1 Head Empty Blues

A2 Baethoven

A3 uwu Type Beat

A4 On Brand

A5 Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between L'Enfant And Eastern Market

B1 Make Me Young

B2 Sticks And Stones

B3 Buffaloed

B4 Devorah

B5 Burning Alive On K St.

B6 I90