TRUE AND TOXIC | UNDER THE RADAR

Premiere: Late Aster Debuts New Single “Dichotomy”

True and Toxic EP Coming May 21st Via Bright Shiny Things
By Caleb Campbell

an Francisco and Brooklyn-based outfit Late Aster specializes in a unique blend of styles, effortlessly blurring boundaries between classical, jazz, pop, and indie. The band—Aaron Messing, Anni Hochhalter, Cameron LeCrone, and Charles Mueller— met while studying jazz and classical performance at Northwestern University and the University of Southern California. Uniting out of a love of experimentation, the quartet then began to explore instrumental palettes often neglected in rock music.

The band’s debut EP, True and Toxic does exactly that, crafting freewheeling instrumental passages that meld genres and push boundaries. The band describes the EP as a “collection of musical sketches on the modern human condition,” drawing on relationships, politics, science, and digital life. The band have already shared the title track and are now sharing another single before the EP releases later this week, “Dichotomy,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Dichotomy” quickly lives up to its name, flipping on a dime between its introductory free jazz soundscape and a stark solitary piano-led passage. Rapid-fire percussion builds into an unbridled assault as brass and cinematic symphonic sections join the mix, only for the track to end seemingly out of nowhere. The result is a fascinating exploration of juxtaposition and expectation as the track’s elements weave together in unexpected ways and defy conventional categorization. Late Aster carves their own path with “Dichotomy,” proving their ability to surprise with new ideas while never losing their fundamental beatific allure.