Asian Man Records – 30 May 2023
Asian Man mines gold with new supergroup (FFO: early Alkaline Trio)
Last night at 2:35 am, I was aroused from my slumber with twin push notifications. The first, from Bandcamp, advised that I should check out the band LEKTRON. The second, from Asian Man Records, advised that the pre-orders for their latest were available and that stock was expected to sell out quickly.
So who is LEKTRON?
Matt Skiba, most famously of Alkaline Trio and a dozen other side projects, looks to have been motivated by his understandable ouster from Blink 182. He got together with regular collaborators Hunter Burgan (bassist for AFI, but no stranger to side projects), Randy Moore (Get Married) and Atom Willard (just look at his Discogs credits) to record two new songs.
Allegedly, the band “draws influence from its members' respective projects as well as bands like Fugazi, Joy Division, and Brainiac.” These tracks are also but a teaser for a forthcoming LP and extensive touring.
Skiba's side projects are known for being a mixed bag. I'm quite a fan of fuzzed-out rock theHELL and the acoustic stylings of his solo split with Kevin Seconds. However, the gothic Heavens and the post-punk Sekrets are rarely to my taste.
This self-titled debut is a great first step in sticking the supergroup's landing as a memorable, viable band.
“Dirty Jacks” is a distorted rocker, wrought with early Skiba-isms. Choppy strumming in the verse leads into soaring octave chords in the chorus, making me wish that Maybe I'll Catch Fire, while the lyrics are a delightful variation upon the devilish verses of “Hell Yes”.
“She's A War” is a driving track showcasing the whole band's skills, where the subject matter is vaguely reminiscent of the themes of “Warbrain”. While Skiba mixes metaphors in catchy rhyme and meter, Hunter shows off his bass chops throughout the whole song, tethering the twin guitar attack to Willard's pounding drums. Courtesy of the wail of his Tubescreamer pedal, Moore graces us with a quick, tasteful solo before Skiba takes us home with the outro lyric—”You're like a war”—something simple to howl over a tall boy of Old Style.
Once hailing from the salty tundra of Syracuse, NY, Ben now calls the DC suburbs his home. He fell in love with punk after listening to Punk-O-Rama 3, Less Than Jake and MXPX in middle school. He loves to slam dance but is too large to stage dive.
When he's not pretending to have exquisite musical taste, he's raising two children, designing RPG products and practicing law. (Who knows if he'll ever get the hang of it.)