Veteran New York underground rock trio Antietam look toward the night sky for perspective on “Every Other Star,” the lead single from their forthcoming 14th album, The Counting Game.
More than four decades into their career, Antietam are still finding new territory to explore. The New York trio have released “Every Other Star,” the first single from their upcoming album The Counting Game, due September 4 via Dromedary Records.
Built around guitarist and vocalist Tara Key’s reflections on aging, memory and the passage of time, “Every Other Star” finds something reassuringly permanent amid everything that inevitably changes. The recurring appearance of Orion becomes a thread connecting different periods of Key’s life, allowing distant memories and absent loved ones to briefly occupy the same emotional space as the present.
That reflective quality fits naturally within Antietam’s expansive approach to underground rock. Formed in the mid-1980s by Key and bassist Tim Harris, with drummer Josh Madell joining in 1990, the band have spent decades moving between punk urgency, melodic indie rock, experimentation and sprawling guitar improvisation without settling comfortably into any single category.
The Counting Game continues that restless approach. Key’s expressive guitar playing remains central alongside Harris’ melodic bass and Madell’s propulsive drumming, but the album also broadens the trio’s palette through a collection of collaborators. Violin, cello, banjo, atmospheric instrumentation and guest vocals appear across the record, including contributions from Katie Gentile, Tara Jane O’Neil, Mark Howell, Steve Cooley and Trixie Madell.
Rather than treating their 14th album as an opportunity to revisit past glories, Antietam appear determined to keep stretching outward. “Every Other Star” makes an especially fitting introduction, transforming the simple act of looking upward into a meditation on everything accumulated across a lifetime.
The Counting Game arrives September 4 on vinyl, CD and digital platforms. Antietam will also appear at Dromfest over Labor Day weekend in Catskill, New York.