Explore the otherworldly indie-rock of Denver’s , who will debut their live projection-mapping show at Larimer Lounge on Saturday.
While it may seem petty and insignificant to some, considering a band’s name can offer insights into the music. Take the Denver electro indie-rock band . The name is comprised of a prefix, “pan-,” meaning all, and an adjective, “astral,” meaning “of the stars.” Literally, this combines to mean “all of the stars.” So what does that say about the music?
Pan Astral has created a universal universe of varied musical genres from ’80s electro-pop to more current dream pop to spaced out EDM to ethereal indie rock. They span the atmospheric qualities of a host of sounds, combining them to form something newish. (There are a host of other band exploring this.) But just as their name is an adjective without a noun to modify — pan-astral what? — this is a band without a definition of what’s to come. Emotionally, there is a sense of longing or lack in their music, and creatively they seem to be looking to the future without defining it. Take their new stage show, for example.
On January 4, Pan Astral will play , debuting their new live projection mapping. A sort of augmented reality, projection mapping is projecting images onto something in such a way that the screen is not a host of the image but actually part of the image. In this case, Pan Astral, wearing all white, is the incorporated screen. You can get a taste if what this might look like in the band’s new video for “,” a track off their forthcoming EP, available for download below.
At first, live projection mapping may seem like a gimmick, but in truth it’s sure to create a greater live experience, in line with their sound. And a quick read of a band spanning such broad sound space might lead to the conclusion it’s just novelty, but that’s not the case. Pan Astral is teeming with an ambition that can’t be confined to the orbit of one star.
Please note that downloads offered via Steal This Track are intended to whet your appetite, and are NOT CD-quality recordings. If you want those, please support the artists by buying their music and/or seeing them live.
If you’re a band or musician ready to expose your fresh sounds to the readers of Reverb, email your tracks — along with any interesting facts about them, as well as a photo or album art — to Steal This Track for consideration.
Josh Johnson is a Denver freelance writer and Reverb contributor. He is also a co-host/co-producer of the Denver podcast . He’s also a journeyman butcher. Seriously.
