EARMILK EARMILK
  • NEW MUSIC
    • DANCE
    • ELECTRONIC
    • EXPERIMENTAL
    • HIP-HOP
    • INDIE
    • POP
    • ROCK
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • DOCUMENTARIES
    • EVENTS
    • FASHION
    • LIFESTYLE
    • MUSIC GEAR
    • MUSIC INDUSTRY
    • TECHNOLOGY
  • OPINION
  • ALBUM REVIEWS
  • GEAR REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • FEATURES
    • FESTIVALS
    • EXCLUSIVES
    • LISTS
    • CONTESTS
    • Photo Journals
  • SERIES
    • Artist to Watch
    • Under The Crust
    • Flashback Friday
    • Suicide Sundaes
    • Daily 2%
    • The Club
    • Weekend Selector
    • Mashup Mondays
    • Artist Remixed
    • Wobble Wednesday
    • Night Rumours
    • Indie Sabbath
    • Straight No Chase
    • Straight From the Teet
  • Jobs
  • About EARMILK
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Music
EARMILK EARMILK
EARMILK EARMILK
  • NEW MUSIC
    • DANCE
    • ELECTRONIC
    • EXPERIMENTAL
    • HIP-HOP
    • INDIE
    • POP
    • ROCK
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • DOCUMENTARIES
    • EVENTS
    • FASHION
    • LIFESTYLE
    • MUSIC GEAR
    • MUSIC INDUSTRY
    • TECHNOLOGY
  • OPINION
  • ALBUM REVIEWS
  • GEAR REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • FEATURES
    • FESTIVALS
    • EXCLUSIVES
    • LISTS
    • CONTESTS
    • Photo Journals
  • SERIES
    • Artist to Watch
    • Under The Crust
    • Flashback Friday
    • Suicide Sundaes
    • Daily 2%
    • The Club
    • Weekend Selector
    • Mashup Mondays
    • Artist Remixed
    • Wobble Wednesday
    • Night Rumours
    • Indie Sabbath
    • Straight No Chase
    • Straight From the Teet
  • Ambient
  • Electronic
  • Experimental
  • Mainstage
  • Premiere

Hustle and Drone cement looming thoughts on murky industrial cut “Dark Star” [Premiere]

  • August 2, 2019
  • Janette Ayub
Total
0
Shares
0
0

Venturing into a more authentic musical identity, the origins of Portland-based band Hustle and Drone serendipitously bookend their latest single “Dark Star.” After departing from keyboard duties from Portugal. The Man, Ryan Neighbors sought a different avenue and first cultivated the electro-pop project alongside Kirk Onstad. In the midst of self-discovery, which echoes from the band’s full-length debut, Holyland, the now trio (Andy Black and Ryan Moore) toiled towards a follow-up and fell short.

Taking producer Sonny DiPerri’s feedback into consideration led the artists to start over. And from the exasperated pool of beginning again and digging for a cathartic release, the result induced the sounds of “Dark Star,” and effectively the birth of a “new direction.”

Acting as their second single from their upcoming album, What An Uproar, due this October, the track strays from their first single “Stranger,” where mellotron loops and progressive-pop were prominent. “Dark Star” is carved from an electronic bed and wrapped in a darker sheet. The moody and disdained keys are the icicles that perfectly hang from the track’s gloomy conception. It emerges as an experimental, desolate sound bite, cuing a distressing line that broods. Opening to a modulation of polished static, Neighbors’ crisp, hum ridden vocals and lines ride the tangible guitar strums: “There’s a nightmare inside my head / There’s a dark wall inside my head / I’m fading away.”

The resonance of the bass allows the heavily subdued electronic production to breathe at the right moments, hinting at the stagnation that Neighbors sings. Each line is rooted from a “dark place” and reflects on past experiences with a little bit of “self-pity” according to Neighbors. “It’s very easy to allow yourself to remain stuck, wool over your eyes, and it just gets worse and worse,” continues Neighbors. “Sometimes you need to step outside of yourself and look at your situation. Is it really that bad? I need [to] remind myself of that constantly."

Ultimately, it isn’t right to simply throw “Dark Star” into the category of electronic. The industrial cut and self-deprecating, tangled lines creep from an experimental belly. Hints of alt-rock are heard from the overall composition and it just bleeds with a satisfactory ambiance that somewhat mirrors the attitude of 80s post-punk.

If “Dark Star” is the projection of the trio’s newly crafted soundscape, there’s a beautiful return of a distinct Pacific Northwest grunge sound that is extremely welcomed.

Connect with Hustle and Drone: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud | Spotify

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Alt-rock
  • Ambient Electronic
  • Dark Star
  • electronic
  • Hustle and Drone
  • indie electronic
  • Premiere
Janette Ayub

Former disc jockey and wing enthusiast that collects cats in my spare time. I'm also a recovering carnivore.

Previous Article
  • Electronic

DROELOE remixes Petit Biscuit's "We Were Young" into the stratosphere

  • August 2, 2019
  • Jason Heffler
View Article
Next Article
  • Folk
  • Indie

Plàsi's bubbly single "Bright" is a perfect addition to that late-summer playlist

  • August 2, 2019
  • Rachel Hammermueller
View Article
You May Also Like
View Article
  • Ambient
  • Atmospheric
  • Chillwave
  • Downtempo
  • Easy Listening
  • Electronic
  • Indie
  • Melodic

RelaxMyDog, Antaeus and Mosadi team up for a transformative soundtrack with "Beautiful Dog"

  • August 28, 2025
Outpost Drive
View Article
  • Feature
  • Indie
  • Mainstage
  • New Music
  • Pop

Outpost Drive deliver sunlit storytelling on new single “House Of Cards”

  • August 27, 2025
Bea Elmy Martin
View Article
  • Indie
  • Mainstage
  • Pop

Bea Elmy Martin’s new single “Lost” captures the beauty of drifting

  • August 27, 2025
Cybèle
View Article
  • Feature
  • Indie
  • Mainstage
  • Pop

French-Chinese-American rising star Cybèle shares lush new single “In Another Life”

  • August 27, 2025
View Article
  • Blues
  • Exclusive
  • Interviews
  • Mainstage
  • New Music
  • Rock

Inside Bones Owens’ new upcoming album 'Best Western' and his spot on Whiskey Myers’ acoustic tour [Interview]

  • August 27, 2025
View Article
  • Electronic
  • Electronic
  • Experimental
  • Indie
  • Mainstage
  • New Music

Sasha & The Bear make a subtle but powerful statement with “Humanly Small”

  • August 27, 2025
View Article
  • Alt-Pop
  • Electro Pop
  • Electronic
  • Experimental
  • Mainstage

Selkie’s “Hours” is a deeply emotional sonic journey

  • August 25, 2025
The Wands Collective
View Article
  • Feature
  • Indie
  • Indie Pop
  • Mainstage
  • Pop

The Wands Collective break borders with debut album “Four Corner Circle”

  • August 25, 2025
Popular Music
  • RelaxMyDog, Antaeus and Mosadi team up for a transformative soundtrack with "Beautiful Dog"
    • August 28, 2025
  • Them Damn Dogs release second single of the year "Leave It Alone"
    • August 28, 2025
  • [Interview] JUNHEE dives into solo debut "Supernova," upcoming mini-album and his musical journey so far
    • August 28, 2025
  • Ocean Tisdall shares quiet heartbreak anthem "Making It Easy"
    • August 28, 2025
  • Elijah Cruise Explores Love’s Shadows on New Single “Dark Romance”
    • August 28, 2025
Recent Scoops
  • Jay Tone is carving out his space with "Puzzles"
    • July 7, 2025
  • Matt Oakley is redefining country music with heart, soul and modernity
    • May 5, 2025
  • Texas’ Blacktop Mojo does rock music the way it should be done
    • April 29, 2025
  • Tha Rapper Haiti blends authentic style with musical passion
    • April 28, 2025
Community Voices
  • From Machismo To Mujeres: Women As The Face Of Reggaeton
    • July 14, 2022
  • Tyler the creator
    4 things I learned on the 'Call Me If You Get Lost' tour
    • March 31, 2022
  • 4 things every artist needs to think about in 2022
    • January 27, 2022
  • The TikTok Takeover of Hip-Hop
    • January 11, 2022

EARMILK EARMILK
  • Jobs
  • About EARMILK
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Music
All Milk. No Duds.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.