Astryx* (Album Release), Endearments, Worship Team

Astryx\* is a Brooklyn-based four-piece blending '80s synth melodrama, '90s euphoric nostalgia, and raw post-modern angst into lush, cinematic soundscapes. Signed to Trash Casual Records, their magnetic live show fuses synths, guitars, bass, and drums into a darkwave-tinged indie dance experience reminiscent of The Cure, M83, and Pet Shop Boys. Kevin Marksson wears his heart on his sleeve. Never one to shy away from big emotions, the Brooklyn songwriter has poured three years of diaries into the music of Endearments. The trio’s latest EP, It Can Be Like This, is no exception; Marksson and his bandmates—guitarist Anjali Nair and drummer Will Haywood Smith—channel these introspections into lush, reverb-washed pop songs that evoke early 4AD dream pop and the romanticism of Roxy Music. Worship Team’s music will keep you guessing. Drawing from new wave, post-punk, and indie pop, they play a game of telephone between darkness and light. One moment you’re lifted up by soaring vocal melodies and shimmering guitar; the next, you’re pummeled by distorted bass lines and industrial drums. Lyrically, they wear their broken hearts on their sleeves. Altogether, it’s sort of like driving a hot pink convertible straight into a thunderstorm.