Philadelphia rock band Feaster channel heartbreak, change, and the quiet echoes of absence into “Gene,” a charged, churning eruption full of roaring guitars, restless energy, and irresistible hooks.

Stream: “Gene” – Feaster

It was kind of a big Band-Aid of some type. Like cauterizing a wound or missing limb.

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Heartbreak rarely arrives cleanly, and it almost always leaves a mess in its wake.

It lingers in the small, stubborn details – the warmth left behind on the bed, the silence where a greeting used to be, the strange emptiness of a room that still remembers what used to live inside it. Those quiet ghosts of routine and companionship can feel louder than the breakup itself, echoing long after everything else has changed.

Philadelphia rock band Feaster channel that disorienting aftermath into something raw, ragged, and strangely infectious on “Gene,” a dynamic blast of fuzzed-out guitars, cheeky “la-la” hooks, and emotional volatility that hits with equal parts bite and charm. Inspired by vocalist Jared Rodriguez’s experience separating not only from a partner but also from the dog they shared, the song captures the peculiar heartbreak of losing a daily presence – a four-legged companion who once filled the room with life, and now lingers only in memory. The result is a track that turns a painfully specific moment into something universal: A bruised, cathartic anthem about change, absence, and learning how to move forward when something you love is suddenly gone.

Beneath the covers
Ex-feral creature
Used to lay paws
Now he lives in my mind

I dream of Genie
Not on the TV
Ears made of honey
They’re so much bigger than mine

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Gene,” the charged, hook-forward lead single from Feaster’s forthcoming debut album Big Super, out May 8, 2026 via Bad Catt Records. Born along the Delaware River and shaped by years of shared history – founding members Jared Rodriguez and Ian Lozinski have been making music together since they were kids – the band write with the kind of lived-in chemistry you can’t fake: Instinctive left turns, locked-in grooves, and riffs that feel both unruly and intentional. Rounded out by drummer Chris Hranj and guitarist Andreas “Dre” Constantinou, Feaster first introduced their raw, shape-shifting sound on their 2024 debut EP Pearly Gates, a release that hinted at the band’s knack for pairing fuzzy riffs, head-turning arrangements, and emotionally nuanced songwriting. Now, with Big Super, the group expand that foundation into a full-length statement, sharpening their melodic instincts while leaning further into the unruly energy and cathartic immediacy that define their sound.

“Gene” distills their innate chemistry into a bruised, fuzzed-out rush of distortion and cheeky singalong bite, soundtracking the destabilizing aftermath of loss – the moment when something ends, the room goes quiet, and you’re left to pick through what’s still there.

Four-legged heater
Emotion meter
Even though I’m headin’
you’ll always be on my mind

Astray and lonely
I call your name out
I had to leave ya for her to take ya

You know you’re tellin me something
I don’t wanna know
You know you’re tellin me something
I don’t wanna know

As Rodriguez explains, writing “Gene” became a way to process a moment that felt too large and raw to simply move past. “It was a way to resolve the pain of the moment – it was kind of a big Band-Aid of some type. Like cauterizing a wound or missing limb,” he tells Atwood Magazine. That raw, visceral immediacy pulses through the song’s DNA: Guitars that snarl and roar in equal measure, drums that push the track forward with restless urgency and pounding passion, and a feverish, heavy-hitting chorus that makes the aches feel louder, not lighter. Feaster lean into the pain and tension, letting the grit of the verses give way to a chorus that bursts open in a rush of melody and noise – the kind of moment that turns private hurt into something loud, alive, and impossible not to feel.

Half empty row home
Pack up the bedroom
The pictures belong in the
frames but they’re gone

Rest on the covers
City of brothers
Still feel the warmth
on the bed we slept on

Four-legged heater
Emotion meter
Fiendin for your greetin
when I get home at dawn

Astray and lonely
I call your name out
I had to leave ya for her to take ya
You know you’re tellin me something
I don’t wanna know…

In the end, that push and pull is what makes “Gene” such a compelling listen. Feaster transform a deeply personal moment – of losing two loves at once – into something expansive, pairing restless rock energy with the strange tenderness that lingers after loss. The result is a song that feels both intimate and immediate: A snapshot of a life in transition, where memory, absence, and momentum collide in a swirl of distortion and melody.

Stream “Gene” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, then read on as Feaster unpack the heartbreak behind the song, their years of shared musical history, and the making of their debut album Big Super.

The efforts you made
Just to erase me
All the shit that you gave
Just helped to displace
These thoughts of before
And not to be forlorn

Whoa! Hey! Don’t touch me I’m a live wire
You turned romance into a viking’s pyre
You burned down the house
Yeah you burned down the hou-hou-house
I don’t wanna know…

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:: stream/purchase Gene here ::

:: connect with Feaster here ::

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Stream: “Gene” – Feaster

A CONVERSATION WITH FEASTER

Ian Lozinski: We feel the band is unique in that we all grew up together in the same area. There is a tightness that comes with this; an unsaid understanding when jamming or writing song parts. You almost just know where the other person is going – for example a change in temp or key change.

It also creates a trust when collaborating and writing songs – they take shape fairly quickly.

Jared Rodriguez: Other bands I’ve been a part of in the past didn’t flow as well and I felt I had to compromise musically.

As a band, we always see where the song wants to naturally go. We let it do its thing and we are there to help it along.

Dre Constantinou: Having a lot of influences and a variety of musical tastes is part of what makes Feaster so different. We all grew up together – went to middle school together. It’s crazy we are all in a band now so many years later.

Chris Hranj: We’ve been focusing energy into making something we are proud of – working hard to make good music.

Jared Rodriguez: Zeppelin, Sabbath, Stooges, Ramones, Jim Carroll – all in the catalog of north stars.

Ian Lozinski: Queen of the Stoneage, White Stripes, Beatles, Bowie, Pink Floyd

Jared Rodriguez: Most excited to see what we are going to do next – how Feaster’s sound will evolve. We are “Jackson Pollacking” each new song we write. We are finding our center and filling out the space of knowing where we are in the universe of music.

Dre Constantinou: Love playing different styles of music when playing in the band – rock, more progressive stuff, and also a softer side with songwriting as well. Never know what’s going to happen next. That’s what makes it fun to play – doing it for the love of music.

Jared Rodriguez: I was in a relationship with an ex in Philly. We got a dog named Gene together. When we broke up I felt the only way to make it right was to let her go off with Gene. The song is also about all the changes that happen in that scenario and you destabilize. It outlines all the elements you pick through to find your way back.

Jared Rodriguez: It was a way to resolve the pain of the moment – it was kind of a big Band-Aid of some type. Like cauterizing a wound or missing limb.

Ian Lozinski: For me, the song is a snapshot of that time. It was the first song we had Dan Malsch mix. It represents an interesting time when Jared was crashing with me. A neighbor, Steve, helped produce Gene. Jared told him the story behind the song and he was angry about it. This flipped a switch in Jared – changing the way he emoted through the song when performing it by validating the hurt. It was a leveling up experience.

Jared Rodriguez: Steve was an important neighbor – he would come by and drop wisdom on us – he was in a band in the ’90s called Tommy Took Acid. Within 4 or 5 months of knowing him, he passed away in his home.

Ian Lozinski: Big Super touches in a bunch of different emotions. There are songs that are anxious feeling, bitter sweet, somber, frantic – set everything on fire. This one touches on the last two – bitter sweet but burn the house down subdued rage.

Musically it’s right in the middle in terms of energy and danceability.

Jared Rodriguez: The song deals with change and the feelins that come with change – moving on from things you were once stable in – how to deal with that.

Dre Constantinou: The song deals with the idea that everything has an expiration date – no matter what you do, things don’t go the way you planned. And whether you like it or not, things do expire.

Chris Hranj: “Gene” being the first song where we felt we leveled up – went to a legit studio to mix. I hope people see and hear the hard work and connect with that. We want people to come away from hearing it and connect to it in a meaningful way.

Jared Rodriguez: “Gene” is a good intro to the album – it’s like the first few seconds of flipping on a TV and landing on a sitcom’s sonic opening. The last 20 seconds is a rush – hoping the listener feels it too.

Ian Lozinski: Every song I have an affinity towards, it wasn’t what it was intended to be – listening during a car ride and looking out into traffic or a mountain. Hopefully listeners get to experience Gene in a good spot.

Ian Lozinski: Planette Automatic, Ski Team

Chris Hranj: Jaw Dust – for anyone that digs metal, Goon.

Jared Rodriguez: My Wife’s an Angel, El Dingo, God Caster, Hubble Benson, Zaku, The Secret Chiefs 3, The Angies, Ronald Reagan the Actor, Slow Noche.

Dre Constantinou: Necrophiliac Yacht Club, Brooke Pridemore, Frank Hurricane…

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:: stream/purchase Gene here ::

:: connect with Feaster here ::

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Stream: “Gene” – Feaster

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 © Kate O'Hare

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