Ekko Astral's new album the beltway is burning was supposed to be arriving at the end of the month. But it's been a rocky year for the DC punks: In January, drummer Miri Tyler left in what appeared to be an amicable parting. But after the Washington City Paper reported that bassist/vocalist Jae Holzman had filed a peace order against Tyler, Ekko Astral's label Topshelf suddenly dropped them, leaving them to self-release the beltway is burning, which has been postponed. Ekko Astral's remaining members released a statement explaining their side of the story, disputing some details of the City Paper's coverage. Meanwhile, somehow, they were still out there playing gigs: Today, Ekko Astral have announced their first-ever live album fuck this band, which is releasing the same day their studio album was scheduled to arrive.
Ekko Astral recently wrapped up a West Coast tour the British post-hardcore band Mclusky. They recorded fuck this band at the Chapel in San Fransisco, capturing what Ekko Astral very well thought might be some of their last-ever shows. As a preview, they're sharing their great rendition of "lil xan goes to washington," but you'll have to buy the album to hear the whole thing. All of the proceeds from digital sales of fuck this band will be split evenly between Gender Liberation Movement and No More Dysphoria.
On X, Holzman explained some of the significance behind this release:
“fuck this band” was initially planned to be the last thing ekko astral would do, indefinitely. the experience of being suddenly dropped by our label w/ little explanation did a real number on my mental health. it was one reason we suddenly pulled back so much.
when your main reason for living is art, and you go through this kind of sudden major rejection, you can start to question whether your life and art itself has value in the world. doubly so if a big part of your art is your identity & personal story.
in the end touring with mclusky was what both i and liam needed to regain our footing. a strength. electricity. confidence. when we got to SF to record “fuck this band”, it felt like an end had instead become a means to move forward. a new beginning.
this live album captures a defiant and powerful performance i’d say rivals any other we’ve played. expanded and reworked versions of pink balloons material sounding like you’ve never heard them before. unreleased songs from beltway. a spicy one we wrote just for the tour.
Hear "lil xan goes to washington" below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "sandler '36 (live)"
02 "lil xan goes to washington (live)"
03 "stuffing my fingers into a meat grinder (live)"
04 "head empty blues (live)"
05 "baethoven (live)"
06 "uwu type beat (live)"
07 "horseglue / beltway (live)"
08 "devorah (live)"
“fuck this band” was initially planned to be the last thing ekko astral would do, indefinitely.
— jae holzman (@jaeporeon) April 15, 2026
the experience of being suddenly dropped by our label w/ little explanation did a real number on my mental health. it was one reason we suddenly pulled back so much.
when your main reason for living is art, and you go through this kind of sudden major rejection, you can start to question whether your life and art itself has value in the world.
— jae holzman (@jaeporeon) April 15, 2026
doubly so if a big part of your art is your identity & personal story.
in the end touring with mclusky was what both i and liam needed to regain our footing. a strength. electricity. confidence.
— jae holzman (@jaeporeon) April 15, 2026
when we got to SF to record “fuck this band”, it felt like an end had instead become a means to move forward. a new beginning.
this live album captures a defiant and powerful performance i’d say rivals any other we’ve played.
— jae holzman (@jaeporeon) April 15, 2026
expanded and reworked versions of pink balloons material sounding like you’ve never heard them before.
unreleased songs from beltway.
a spicy one we wrote just for the tour.
fuck this band: live at the chapel is self-released on 4/22.
