Duster Release Surprise Demos Album And Launch Stratosphere Into Space

Duster, the San Jose slowcore band, were pretty obscure in their day. In recent years, though, younger fans have discovered Duster's old records, and the band has gotten back together to release a couple of new ones. The band's debut album Stratosphere came out back in 1998, and now Numero Group, the label behind the reissues that helped introduce Duster to new generations, has released a 25th-anniversary edition of the LP, as well as a surprise LP of demos. (The actual 25th anniversary was back in February, but nevermind.) Numero Group has also sent a copy of Stratosphere into space.

Duster's new demo collection Remote Echoes includes home-recorded four-track songs that Duster recorded over five years. Some came out on the obscure records Christmas Dust and On The Dodge, and some were previously unreleased. The space launch makes its own kind of sense -- an original vinyl copy of Stratosphere going beyond the stratosphere. I don't know anything about the practical realities of sending a record into space, but Numero Group has been broadcasting a live feed of this launch on YouTube. The label has also been tweeting about the process in real time. Below, stream Remote Echoes and check out the space launch.