Premiere: Rough Age Finds Its Focus In The Frenzy On Entertainment
Clarity is everything. It’s the thing we all chase, the thing we all desperately crave, whether we’re seeking direction in our daily lives or transparency from those steering the world above us. It’s more than purpose. More than insight. It’s the feeling of not needing to question anything, neither the motives of others nor the shifting tides of our thoughts. It’s the ability to understand the world precisely and to express all of it plainly and beautifully.
For musicians, that pursuit cuts even deeper. Every song becomes an attempt to capture something exact. A true reflection of who they are, where they stand, what drives them, as well as the spark that started it all. But it’s never simple. The sound in their mind rarely matches what comes through the speakers, no matter how many late nights are spent in the studio or how much fine-tuning happens at the mixing board. Even when they get close, even when the recording finally mirrors the vision, it can still feel incomplete. Something vital missing. Maybe it slipped away inconspicuously in the creative process, or perhaps it’s just that indefinable “it” that can’t be forced into existence.
Like most bands, indie rock band Rough Age has spent years chasing that clarity. Since their formation at the start of the decade, they’ve sought to define their sound and make it feel whole: honest, resonant, and alive. And long before the band came together, its members were already chasing that same elusive precision in other projects, catching flashes of it here and there, moments so vivid they spent the next stretch of their musical lives trying to find them again.
On Entertainment, the band’s sophomore record, Rough Age has found that clarity. They’ve cracked their own code, discovering how to balance chaos and certainty with a precision that feels personal and monumental. Clear-eyed yet nuanced, it’s a celebration of arrival. The sound of a band savoring the hard-won pleasure of understanding their own voice. It lingers in triumph without losing focus, embracing the rush of the present while keeping its gaze steady on the horizon, a record that captures both the immediacy of now and the promise of what comes next. Set for release on Friday, October 10 via Hiltop Records, Entertainment is a shimmering, full-bodied statement from a band that has learned to translate restlessness into resonance. Today, The Auricular is proud to premiere this daring album with an exclusive stream below as well as further insight into the band’s path to clarity and the emotional afterglow of their work.
Entertainment is the follow-up to 2022’s Blank Eyes, a four-track record brimming with big ideas and moody atmospheres. While that debut was the kind of launch many bands would dream of, for Rough Age it only hinted at their expanding ambition. On this new record, the band doubles down on every defining quality in breathtaking fashion. The hooks are sharper, the scope broader, and each track contributes to an overarching narrative that unfolds both cinematically and viscerally. The result is a genuine artistic statement grounded in careful intention while still welcoming the serendipity of creation.
In conversation with frontman Coldon Martin, one word came to define the record: maximalism. “We wanted to create the wall of sound brick by brick, with each part adding to the sum,” Martin said of the recording process. Playing through the record supports this with songs built on textures that play off each other for maximum effect, and outros and intros that blur into one another like the exact conversation played out at different times and scenarios. “It really felt like weaving a tapestry and making sure each thread was woven with the same intention.”
From the onset, that intention is key with roaring guitars circling a raucous rhythm on “Slow It Down,” the album’s bold opening track that instantly underscores the record’s crafty interplay with tension. As the band blasts around with conviction, the lyrics relay personal hesitation (“I can’t seem to find the words to say“) and a need to pause the high-speed ride (“Slow it down\ Try and slow it down\ Light me up so you can\ Burn me out“). It’s a blistering presentation of the state of transit that sums up Entertainment‘s message, one born from the growing contemplation that comes with time.
“It’s neo-romantic with a capital ‘R’,” Martin said of the record’s meaning. “Looking into the horizon and facing that, surrendering to that.” That surrender isn’t effortless here with songs referencing crying “out to the void” and being “home but lost somehow.” Larger questions arise as well (“wonders how and wonders where we’ll go“), often met with quiet acceptance (“Maybe\ She will understand\ All that’s boring\ Is all we’ve got planned“). Entertainment isn’t concerned with providing answers; it’s an invitation to sit with the questions, to feel the tension, the uncertainty, and the fractured beauty inherent in the act of wondering and observing.
Musically, the band set its aims high on this record, blending power pop and shoegaze to create a sound that balances lush, textured elegance with soaring, anthemic hooks. It calls back to the days of Martin’s previous project, the beloved pop-punk (or punk-pop) Lightfields, where the hooks ran high, always keeping the listener’s attention pointed up towards the lofty heights they create. Injecting nebulous dream pop into that formula creates a sound far more immersive than Lightfields previously offered, still directing the listener’s gaze, but in a full 360 scope that’s needed to capture everything going on in the tracks, allowing every emotional shift to be fully understood.
“At times, there’s six guitar parts,” Martin revealed with a laugh, still circling this idea of maximalism that guided the record’s two-year genesis. Yet despite that clear directive, moments of minimal brilliance are still scattered about the record. The opening of “In Disguise” shows the band is just as compelling in lo-fi, two-channel settings. The deliberate rhythmic pace of “Entertainment” and its churning riff show shows that it’s not just about stacking layers upon layers for its true effect. And at times, Martin himself admits simplicity is key in the bigger moments of the record. “For a band that just uses two chords at time, we sure have a lot to say.”
Helping Martin express all of this is versatile collaboration that was key to the record’s success. While the core line-up–Martin (guitar and vocals) James Steven Hoffer (bass), Jake Ashley (drums), and Robert Lindstedt (guitar)–remained locked on the growing sound, the record benefits greatly from an expanded cast of contributors who help support that push forward, nudging them further than they initially thought. Case Graham, Hoffer’s bandmate in shoegaze band Glossing, appears through the record with harmonies and counter-melodies that add more depth to the band’s already expansive sound. Recording and mixing engineer Chris Compton also served as a catalyst for the record, helping to steer the band around trickier moments to make a truly unified sound.
This collaboration reaches its peak on what Martin describes as the album’s centerpiece, the sweeping and dramatic “Dance Inside.” A duet between Graham and Martin, the track also features contributions from Lee Marchenko (Sister Planet) and a striking, essential pedal steel part from renowned guitarist Alan Good Parker. With an infectious chorus that invites revelry amid turbulence, the song stands as a significant achievement for the band, pushing the boundaries between power pop and shoegaze further than they ever imagined.
In another sense, “Sixteen Machine” stands as a testament to the band’s boundary-pushing, shifting away from the illusory charm of “Dance Inside” to fully embrace Rough Age’s urgency, a secret weapon that courses beneath the record’s surface. For every moment immersed in atmosphere, the band is quietly fortifying itself for what comes next, erupting gloriously on “Sixteen Machine,” a blistering, anthemic rock track drenched in moody textures yet keeping its hooks front and center. All of this culminates in a victorious moment of resilience and depletion, the record’s true apex (“You drop dead but you’ve found you’re fine“).
That resilience, in fact, drives much of Entertainment‘s impact, harnessing the band’s seasoned sound and insatiable drive. It’s an injection of emotion that never feels forced, a careful balance of intensity and melody that draws listeners into a state of reflection and absorption. Raw energy coexists with precise craft, as Rough Age channels decades of lived experience into a visceral experience that lingers long after the fading tone of guitar and vocals.
The irony of Entertainment is that its title understates what this album achieves. It’s not a distraction or lark. It’s an invitation to feel deeply. To get lost in the blur of guitars and the glow of melody. To feel yourself pushing against the rhythm while also releasing yourself into its pull. It’s about taking the noise surrounding us and transforming it into clarity rather than letting it drown us in distortion and disorder. For Rough Age, the noise isn’t a barrier to connection. It’s the very thing that makes it all possible.
Entertainment is set for release on Friday, October 10 on limited edition cassettes viai Hilltop Recording (available to order here) as well as all streaming platforms. The same day, the band will be celebrating with an album release show at Gallery5 alongside Painted World and Sister Planet (ticket link here). To stay up-to-date on future releases and updates, make sure to follow Rough Age on social media.
