I wonder how many articles over the past few years have opened with a reference to the pandemic and the many people that chose to spend time in lockdown fostering their creativity. It possibly feels labored at this point, but it is hard to escape when so much positive creative work found its way into the public realm over these years. However, not all projects made it out of lockdown, with people melting back into their daily lives following the easing of restrictions. Today’s featured artist, Artificial Astronaut, is one of the few that managed to not only sustain the project, but have even managed to grow it.

Having released their debut as a two-piece back in January 2021 as a means of fighting the aforementioned pandemic-created boredom, Artificial Astronaut are back with a follow-up, and this time they have brought friends. The Akron, Ohio, outfit are now a 5-piece, with Fred Winkler, Cody Heichel, and Matthew Socrates joining the original pairing of Michael Socrates and Ian Kolarovsky. Today, Everything Is Noise is delighted to present to you their latest release, “Life Has A Vein”.

“Life Has A Vein” explodes into life early, fluttering electronics making way for the dual assault from the guitars of Socrates and Heichel. The new rhythm section showcase their abilities as the track drops for the verses, allowing the vocals space to cut through. From here, the track pushes and pulls it way through, keeping the listener guessing with constant changes of feel and drive. Repeated vocal phrases are punctuated with constantly changing riffs, with subtle (and some not-so-subtle) changes to each verse and chorus. The final breakdown and outro sees each member of Artificial Astronaut showcasing their talents and fully embracing the noise of the track, bringing an enjoyable 5-minutes to its conclusion.

With “Life Has A Vein” being an obvious next step in the evolution of the Ohio five-piece, it would be foolish not to keep up to date. Make sure to keep an ear out for the release of the new Artificial Astronaut album Deep Black Out, due for release March 4, 2022 and available to pre-order via Bandcamp. You can also follow the band and keep informed about future releases and news via the Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages.

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