Singles Spotlight:
Mac Luster –
“Staring at Nothing”

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I’m excited to discuss another group that has recently finished and is releasing their debut EP, Ritual, on August 7th. Today we’ll be talking about Mac Luster. Their bio is an intriguing one. From the band’s press release, “Orange County’s alt-rock band Mac Luster began in 2013 before hitting pause in 2018 and scrubbing their music off the internet. It was only after songwriter Jake Mazon had a chance phone call from Jake’s bassist and friend, Jackson Wargo (Snowball ii, Dante and the Mirrors) last year, the two reunited the band.

“Staring at Nothing” is the song I chose to shed some spotlight on today and serve as an introduction to Mac Luster. This song is a banger, full of emotion in both the lyrics and the vocals. In good ways, as it makes you feel. It also seems like a cathartic release of a past relationship to the singer, at least. Maybe it will have a similar effect as you listen to it. This song should appeal to emo fans of any age or wave as its topic, theme, and even melody transcend. That being said, there’s a lot to like for appreciators of good music regardless of genre. Welcome to SWT (we cover that a lot here). I’m glad Marzon (lead vocals, guitar) and Wargo (bass, backing vocals) decided not to scrap this song but to come together to work on it and enlisted the help of Jordi Radnoti (drums) to create a memorable song. I think that we are all better off hearing this song. And the entire EP.

From the press release for the EP, Marzon noted, “I wrote 13 songs between March and June 2025. I had spent the last several years playing in other people’s projects. I was always writing music, but I never really wrote lyrics after I stopped drinking. I didn’t know how to write when I was happy. When Jackson and I started working together, I knew I wanted to do ‘Staring at Nothing’ and ‘Waiting Game’, which were written in 2012 and 2016 respectively. I was always really proud of them and wished we had done them in the original run of songs. Mac Luster has always been about making music with my friends, and we were going to try to salvage the old drum tracks played by our former drummer on those songs, but the quality of the recording wasn’t up to snuff. 

These songs were chosen because they were about experiences I’d had when I wasn’t writing, and I felt like I needed to exorcise them out of me. ‘The Lovers (Truce)’ was a last minute addition because we both felt strongly about it, and it’s kind of a sequel to ‘Waiting Game’, with ten years in between them. Last fall, my siblings were over at my parents house clearing out the garage so we could jam in there, and they found a Yugioh card called ‘Black Luster Ritual’, and my brother gave it to me and called it the Mac Luster Ritual. I dug it, and since a couple of the songs were inspired by Tarot cards, I ran with it.”

Take a listen for yourself to the song, “Staring at Nothing” from Mac Luster’s YouTube channel:

(All credits and rights to Mac Luster)

An alternate way to listen: here’s the same song via their Bandcamp:

Take a look at the cover art for the Ritual EP:

The track list for the Ritual EP:

1. Ritual [1:02]
2. Staring at Nothing [4:03]
3. Waiting Game [4:51]
4. The Lovers (Truce) [3:34]
5. Sofia [5:02]
6. The Hanged Man’s Swing [6:06]

Alex M Theel

Co-Founder, Reviewer, Content Creator, Business side, Editor at Scummy Water Tower Productions | Web

Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com