Astral Lite
Niceville, Florida, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2015
Music
Press
"A style of music is delivered by Astral Lite which suitably sums up the ’10s with its sense of hallucinogenic induced ‘feel good’ set to a dark industrial barrenness. Not an easy combination of ideas to combine, yet, as the vast swathe of the 99% exist inside the delusion well worth attempting to encapsulate. The players are fine exponents of creating compositions out of contrasting concepts and delivering music that flows through the room which in equal measure expostulates of – broken societies and befuddled compliance.
From the forthcoming album, the title track, a dark and oppressive number that threads through five and a quarter minutes of sitar laden desolation.
Before hitting play – turn up the volume, boost the sub-woofer and turn down the lights to loose yourself in a depiction of the wasteland of insanity – that is 2017." - Emerging Indie Bands
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Astral Lite formed in 2015, with a vision of ushering more experimental sounds to northwest Florida’s music scene. The early years of Astral Lite positioned them as a “post-punk jam band”, combining the esoteric angst of bands like Joy Division and The Cure with improvisational and psychedelically-infused instrumental passages which were just as channeling of the Grateful Dead as they were the Velvet Underground and krautrock bands like Can and Faust. In 2016 they released a Bandcamp exclusive album entitled “Mesmerist’s Mainline”, which greatly showcased this sound.
These early years were wrought with many lineup changes, with the only constant member being lead vocalist, guitarist, and principal songwriter Johnie Palmer with drummer Kaelin Boone also being present for most of the band’s early career. In 2017, Astral Lite released a string of singles with much higher fidelity and studio experimentation promoting an eventually cancelled album entitled “New World Vultures”. Tensions between the band members at the time caused the album to be scrapped and the band eventually fell apart shortly after Boone’s departure in late 2017. Shortly before temporarily disbanding Astral Lite in 2018, they played their then final show opening for Dead Meadow in Pensacola. Such was the close of the first era of Astral Lite.
Then, in 2021, Johnie Palmer and Kaelin Boone reunited Astral Lite, redefining the once heavily improvisational and slightly noise-laden group with significantly more structured songwriting dynamics and pop sensibilities while retaining the celestial sonic demure that has always been characteristic of the band. In 2022 they were joined by Kaelin’s wife Amanda Boone on bass, which also saw to the integration of 3-part vocal harmonies, further solidifying Astral Lite’s reinvention.
Their comeback single, “Strawberry Moon”, was released in 2022, showcasing their newly refined sound. As of April 2022, Astral Lite have been diligently recording their second album “Pseudoscientist”, which is anticipating release later in the year.
Band Members
Links
