As their name implies, Blasteroid‘s sound is at times an explosive blast of noise, but can also be calm and composed. Since we covered them last (in October 2015) the Brooklynites released their debut EP Pretty Good, a carefully crafted but edgy sounding record, that channels genres as disparate as pop, noise rock, psychedelia and even prog-rock. Opening track “Artie and the Mountain” establishes this right away by starting off with a swirling ambient introduction that erupts about a minute into a bizarre song that juxtaposes monster math rock distorted riffs with more casual moments reminiscent of Pavement. On “Wet Dog” the verses feature hushed vocals and calm instrumentation that come to a head during the grungy chorus with fuzzy, distorted guitars. The band handles these transitions between soft and loud parts with poise, but its unpretentious, "semi-slacking" attitude prevents it from sounding pompous. ‘Heater‘ strikes the best balance between classic song structure, and tension/release dynamics, with its memorable chorus and exploding bridge – while an out of key guitar solo contributes in making things a little bit more random. Enjoyable and imaginative, powerful and melodic, the Pretty Good EP is definitely more than that.
Blasteroid will be playing Alphaville on June 3rd in support of Holy Tunics. – John Honan
We added ‘Oaf‘ to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!