ALBUM REVIEW: Aster - "Broken"
by Jesse Smith
Aster is a new up and coming metalcore act from Kansas City, MO with a pretty interesting start. Founding member Austin Westhoff was stationed in Alaska of all places when the project that would be known as Aster was born. But fast forward to around 2020/2021 is when the project really became whole. After releasing a couple of singles, the band has finally debuted their first full length album titled “Broken”. Listening to the tracks, you really feel the emotions behind failed relationships, addiction and depression displayed in each of their songs. Aster has a familiar feel to the early 2010’s metalcore mixing heaviness of slightly down tuned guitars and the raw vocals that really connect the listener to the emotions that singer Justin Scrogham is feeling. It was a powerful and energetic adventure navigating through this album.
Artwork for Aster’s album, “Broken”
Opening track “My Insecurities” makes a lasting first impression by getting right to it and starting the party. No lead in, no drawn out intros, just a fat snare hit and beefy riff. The song touches on exactly what the title is, Insecurities, and is a very relatable song to listen to. Now that they have grabbed your attention and kept it, the energy doesn’t stop as we move to the follow up song titled “You’re Nothing But Unwashed Dishes and Audacity” which is probably the greatest song name in the history of song names. I’m so for bringing back the totally unrelated and absurdly long song names. What I’m also for bringing back is the sound clips, either from a movie or just a funny tidbit from the studio which they do in “On The Floor.” In these first three songs the band never lets up on the gas pedal. Really hitting you hard up front and having a great blend of screams and clean singing. The album in fact has a balance of hard hitting heavy and some slower more emotional songs. Songs like “Darkside of Me” has that really aggressive double kick part while songs like “I’ll Find My Way” is more of a hard ballad. The strongest track has to be the title track “Broken”. This song has a very jumpy rhythm but is not one of the heavier tracks by leaning more on the clean vocals and its melody. Broken is definitely the most well written track on the album and I think most people agree with it racking up over 20k streams on spotify. As a fairly unknown band, reaching those numbers definitely stands out. The album ends with a Justin Beiber cover which I think was a pretty cool choice, I won’t ruin it for you by telling you which one though.
Overall, “Broken” is a very strong first release for a band who is still finding their sound. They have really gotten their point across by portraying their struggles and emotions through music and that really is the first hard part. Music is art, and art should make you feel. When I listen to these songs I feel the heartache and hard work the band has put into their craft. By writing music for yourselves, you are bound to reach others. If you are in the Kansas City area I highly recommend getting out to a show and giving them some support. As for us who aren’t, we will be patiently waiting to see what the band has next.