TL;DR:


• Listen to "shred empty blues" ('head empty blues - pink balloons: popped version') by Mikie Mayo + Dreamrats →
• Tour with Bartees Strange starts this week!
• Liberation Weekend in Washington D.C., May 30th & 31st
• Fall tour dates with PUP and Jeff Rosenstock
• Appearances at Pitchfork Musical Festival London + Paris
  
• Recommended if you like: Sasami, Mannequin Pussy, Model/Actriz, Priests, fiery choruses in the depths of the mascara moshpit

pink balloons is about disruption. But it's also about Washington, DC, queerness, partying, money, violence, difference, irony, and religion. And also: fuck you.

p: Moll Kinnunen

The debut longplayer from Washington, DC-based Ekko Astral -- Jael Holzman, Liam Hughes, and Miri Tyler -- is a complex mesh of bubblegum noise punk and no-wave art rock that holds an elastic space for the knotty, tangled horrors of living in the imperial core. Their songs thrash with intense, necessary defiance against codified gender-based violence, their distortion and sibilance a direct response to the dangers outside our front doors. It's blistering. It's frightening. It's Ekko fucking Astral.

"pink balloons' noise-punk barrage hits like a stray elbow in the mascara moshpit. Ekko Astral smear raw punk, distorted pop hooks, and experimental noise like they're wiping dirt on their lids in place of eye shadow."
-Pitchfork

pink balloons -- produced and mixed by Jeremy Snyder (DITZ, Lambrini Girls, Pure Adult) -- was widely acclaimed, garnering fawning coverage from the likes of Pitchfork (#1 Rock Album of 2024), Stereogum, The Washington Post, The Line of Best Fit, Paste Magazine, and won Ekko Astral year-end plaudits from NPR Music, Uproxx, FLOOD, and KCRW, where host Henry Rollins declared the album his favorite of the year. pink balloons was also recently nominated for "Best Punk Album" for the 2025 Libera Awards.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the album, Ekko Astral and Topshelf are releasing pink balloons: popped, a deluxe CD version featuring the original release's 11-song tracklist along with five bonus tracks including "pomegranate tree" (originally released as a stand alone single), "shred empty blues ('head empty blues: popped version')" by Mikie Mayo + Dreamrats, "uwuwuwu" ('uwu type beat: popped version')" by pet wife, "unbrand ('on brand: popped version')" by They Hate Change, and a radio edit of "sticks & stones." The bonus material is also available today on all streaming services from Topshelf (see Rolling Stone News Story - April 21st).

"pink balloons accurately captures this shit-hole time, but feels activating instead of depressingly hopeless."
-Stereogum

Ekko Astral is touring heavily in 2025 in support of pink balloons with U.S. East Coast dates supporting Bartees Strange in April and May, and a support run for PUP and Jeff Rosenstock in the fall. Ekko Astral has joined forces with Gender Liberation Movement to present "Liberation Weekend", a two-day music and arts festival taking place in the nation's capital on Friday, May 30th, and Saturday, May 31st. Ekko Astral will also visit the UK and Europe for the first time this year, performing at Pitchfork Music Festival in London and Paris this November.

pink balloons: popped tracklist
1. pomegranate tree
2. Mikie Mayo and dreamrats - shred empty blues (popped version)
3. pet wife - uwuwuwu (popped version)
4. They Hate Change - unbrand (popped version)
5. sticks and stones (radio edit)

Miri Tyler of Ekko Astral writes this about the EP:

"I could talk about how much this year meant for me personally, or how much it challenged me and how much I grew through those challenges; But truly, the biggest takeaway for me after seeing the impact this record has made is that I'm finally part of something bigger than myself. The fact that these brilliant artists who were inspired to produce their own remixes, the fact that people who have inspired me for years are excited elevate this music and share it with their world, and the fact that I met so many trans and queer kids this year who were at their first concert -- it all points to something so much bigger than one individual. I'm grateful it's happening at a time when hope is so necessary, and I'm grateful we all get to be a part of it."

Ekko Astral will be playing some shows soon, taking the mascara moshpit on the road. Dates, info, and ticket links are all available below:

• 04/23/2025 - Boston, MA, US @ Brighton Music Hall #
• 04/25/2025 - Baltimore, MD, US @ Ottobar #
• 04/26/2025 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #
• 04/27/2025 - Philadelphia, PA, US @ The Foundry Philadelphia #
• 04/29/2025 - Durham, NC, US @ Motoroco Music Hall #
• 05/02/2025 - Atlanta, GA, US @ Terminal West #
• 05/30/2025 - Washington, DC, US @ Black Cat + DC 9 Nightclub (Liberation Weekend)
• 05/31/2025 - Washington, DC, US @ Black Cat + DC 9 (Liberation Weekend)
• 09/03/2025 - St. Paul, MN, US @ Palace Theatre *
• 09/04/2025 - Madison, WI, US @ The Sylvee *
• 09/05/2025 - Chicago, IL, US @ The Salt Shed *
• 09/06/2025 - Detroit, MI, US @ Russell Industrial Center *
• 09/08/2025 - Pittsburgh, PA, US @ Stage AE *
• 09/09/2025 - Columbus, OH, US @ KEMBA Live! *
• 09/10/2025 - Cleveland, OH, US @ The Agora Theater *
• 09/12/2025 - Washington, DC, US @ The Anthem *
• 09/13/2025 - Brooklyn, NY, US @ Brooklyn Paramount *
• 09/14/2025 - Brooklyn, NY, US @ Brooklyn Paramount *
• 09/15/2025 - Boston, MA, US @ Roadrunner *
• 09/17/2025 - Philadelphia, PA, US @ The Fillmore Philadelphia *
• 09/19/2025 - Raleigh, NC, US @ The Ritz *
• 09/20/2025 - Charlotte, NC, US @ The Fillmore Charlotte *
• 09/22/2025 - Atlanta, GA, US @ The Eastern *
• 09/24/2025 - Houston, TX, US @ White Oak Music Hall *
• 09/25/2025 - Dallas, TX, US @ House of Blues - Dallas *
• 09/26/2025 - San Antonio, TX, US @ Paper Tiger *
• 09/27/2025 - Austin, TX, US @ Radio East *
• 09/30/2025 - Phoenix, AZ, US @ The Van Buren *
• 10/01/2025 - Del Mar, CA, US @ The Sound *
• 10/02/2025 - Hollywood, CA, US @ Hollywood Palladium *
• 10/04/2025 - Oakland, CA, US @ Fox Theater *
• 10/06/2025 - Portland, OR, US @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom *
• 10/07/2025 - Seattle, WA, US @ Showbox SoDo *
• 10/09/2025 - Salt Lake City, UT, US @ Rockwell, The Complex *
• 10/11/2025 - Denver, CO, US @ Mission Ballroom *
• 11/04/2025 - Paris, France @ Le Trabendo !
• 11/05/2025 - London, UK @ Village Underground ^

# w/ Bartees Strange
* w/ PUP, Jeff Rosenstock
^ w/ Ratboys, Upchuck
! w/ Momma, Du Blonde