One of the best parts about great music is its ability to transcend time and space, to transport you back to a night with your friends, the loss of a loved one, or even the walls of your high school with your head hung low and your headphones on. Astro Cowboy serves as a brilliant display of the latter, although I hadn’t found the band until I long escaped the woes of eastern North Carolina, music like theirs just thrusts you back to that high school angst in the best way.
Last Friday the band stopped by Carolina Grown to talk about what it’s like making music in Wilmington, entering into a local music scene they knew next to nothing about, and how you probably shouldn’t throw away your Rock Band set just yet. Although the members of Astro Cowboy are still young, barely able to get into the bars they’re now performing at, they tackle relatable moments of hopelessness, despair, regret and longing with the poise of an aged songwriter. Whether they’re lamenting over burnt pale skin or brief teenage flings, Astro Cowboy is making vulnerability look cool again.
Listen below for our full conversation with the band along with three tracks from their latest release Hedonism Colosseum.