Massage

A record so sweet one label couldn’t contain it. The new album from longtime favorites Massage is out on a trifecta of trusted sources (Mt. St. Mtn, Bobo Integral, Prefect Records) and it’s been well worth the four year wait for new material from the band. To be fair, they’ve been pretty busy away from the studio as well, navigating loss, love, parenting, strife, struggle, and joy. All of it gets its due on Coaster, the band’s most realized vision yet. In the past Massage hasn’t wanted for softness or suppleness, but both seem to be standout signifiers of the new record. Produced with Andrew Brassell, who helped out with their interim EP In Gray & Blue, the new record is doused in spiraling guitars, downy keys, and the kind of smudged sonics that make heartache heal in the embrace of their blurry bounty.

Now, the band’s gonna demure and tell you this is just college rock to them, and with a widened scope, it absolutely is. However that all depends on when you were hitting the books, and with a greater emphasis this time around on the plush wonders of Echo, The Cure, The Clean, and The Bats, it’s hard to shake the New Wave shudders that slip through the cracks on Coaster. The band taps into the emotional undercurrent of the late ‘80s, indie pop that’s dealing with the growing pains of maturity and the reality of wounds that don’t heal like they once did when the years seemed endless. We all hit the crossroads, but Massage have given the threshold a glossy glow, a spoonful of sugar to help cut the taste of time. It’s been a pretty packed year for indie pop, but if you walk away from 2025 without Coaster on the turntable, you’re coming up short.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.