Halogens is an alternative rock band out of Asbury Park, New Jersey. I came across them when searching for new music the other night and added a bunch of their songs to my Spotify account to listen to on my commute to work. Every song I have heard from Halogens has impressed me. As they have progressed over the past few years, the band has perfected their sound and built a strong following.
Halogens is made up of Zach Henry (lead vocals & guitar), Charlie Throckmorton (guitar), Tim Wuestneck (bass & vocals), and George Saives (drums). “Drawing influences from an eclectic range of artists and genres, the band has crafted their own brand of fun, energetic, and groove infused rock music.” The band’s signature sound and style can be heard on everything that they have released so far. In 2016, Halogens released a self-titled EP, as well as a split EP with Staten. Something that I look for in a band is the way they are able to add variety into their music. Halogens is no stranger to switching up their flow! Each of their releases sets itself apart from one another. The split EP with Staten allowed the band to show off their acoustic abilities and their self-titled EP features a full band. It’s cool to see that a band can represent themselves in multiple ways and still hold true to the sound that made fans fall in love with them.
The very first song I heard by Halogens was Kitchen Sink, off of their self-titled EP. This is the song that made me an instant fan of the band. The intro guitar riff with the bass kick that leads into the full band explosion gets me every time! Zach Henry’s vocals that lead into a full band jam session puts the listener directly into the emotional state that the band was in when recording this song. “I don’t wanna be alone, but sometimes I have to, we make our problems sound like jokes, because sometimes we have to!” Not every band has the capability of being able to share the emotional experience they went through when recording with their listeners, which makes me even more impressed by Halogens. Kitchen Sink is not the only banger on Halogen’s self-titled EP. All five songs on the project are awesome and deserve to be played at full volume no matter where you are!
In January of 2018, Halogens released their new single, Pretty Enough. I am a HUGE fan of this song. It is a slower, softer song than the others, but still has that hard-hitting, edgier sound to it. “It’s been raining for days, and days, and days, and the pit in my stomach, grows every time I think too much, about how I don’t feel pretty enough! ‘I’ll always love you’ on a purple post-it note I once kept close, I noticed today the ink start to fade.” Halogens was able to take these obviously emotion-filled, close-to-home lyrics and pair them with an instrumental set that encompasses both the soft and hard side of the band. Pretty Enough started Halogens 2018 off with a bang, and I only see them growing more and more as the year goes on!
Halogens is an alternative rock band that is sure to continue to thrive in the music scene. Their original sound and style is something that true music fans have been waiting for. Make sure to give their music a listen on the blog’s Spotify playlist, After Hours Review, and check out Halogens upcoming show!
Tour Date
Friday, May 18th – Asbury Park Brewery, Asbury Park, New Jersey