DC post-punks Ekko Astral have announced their debut album for Topshelf, pink balloons, due April 17 (pre-order). It includes the recently-released ripper “baethoven,” as well as the just-released “devorah,” a six-minute song that starts out with a slow-burning, atmospheric build-up and eventually explodes. The band says:
This song is about empathizing with marginalized people in spite of the discomforts of capitalism and expressing gratitude to those who persevere through the worst our world can offer. The chorus is a reference to “missing and murdered indigenous persons”, a term often used to describe the high rate of killed and kidnapped Native Americans. It’s a reference to how our country doesn’t give any legal consent to the use of these peoples’ lands, but it is willing to express some form of verbal contrition for those who are gone too early…and what that says about how it treats all of its historically disadvantaged communities.
Listen and watch the video (by Kate the Cursed) below. Ekko Astral also have tour dates coming up with Crush Fund, including Montclair, NJ’s Meatlocker on Thursday (3/28) and Brooklyn’s The Broadway on April 12 with Pretty Bitter, Ultra Deluxe, and FNOA also on the bill.
After that, they open part of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists‘ Shake The Sheets 20th anniversary tour, including the NYC-area shows at Asbury Park’s The Stone Pony on June 19 and Brooklyn’s Warsaw on June 23. All dates are listed below.
Tracklist
head empty blues
“baethoven” →
uwu type beat
on brand
somewhere at the bottom of a river between l’enfant plaza and eastern market
make me young
sticks and stones
buffaloed
devorah
burning alive on k st
i90 (feat. Josaleigh Pollett)
Ekko Astral — 2024 Tour Dates
March 28, 2024 – Montclair, NJ @ Meatlocker
March 29, 2024 – Charlottesville, VA @ Chinchilla Cafe
March 30, 2024 – Richmond, VA @ Banditos Burritos
March 31, 2024 – Durham, NC @ Pinhook
April 5, 2024 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
April 12, 2024 – New York City, NY @ The Broadway
April 20, 2024 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Roboto Project
April 27, 2024 – Burlington, VT @ Monkey House
supporting Ted Leo:
June 19, 2024 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony
June 20, 2024 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
June 21, 2024 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
June 22, 2024 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
June 23, 2024 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw