A glitter-spangled rawkin' banger designed to elicit immediate fist-pumps, party-party partying, and plenty of "oooOOOooo"s.

Photo by CJ Simonson.

One of the reasons I listen to just about everything sent my way (on top of my own constant search for anything new that will hit me just right) is you never know when you’re gonna find a buried gem. While I was enjoying Mac Luster’s debut EP Ritual, my main impression was that it sounded like a nicely solid middle-aged take on emo with a bit of Midwestern grit.*

 

And then the EP's penultimate song “Sofia” crashed into my headphones; an ’80s pop-metal pastiche driven lyrically by a fleeting meeting at a show, and musically by a party bouncing its way through the fretboard and all over the drum kit. 

 

Give it a spin. Since it’s so different from the rest of the EP, I can’t promise it’ll make you a fan of the band, but it might. And at the very least I think it’ll make you a fan of the song, and that’s where it always starts anyway, right?

*I say “grit” but by that I do not mean it’s an irritation, but more a worn-in, welcoming authentic feel that is cozy but not soft. A style which seems to be leaking into more and more music coming out of California these days. Midwestern influence or Midwestern infiltration? Curiouser and curiouser, to me.