One Outta Ten: Distant Stars

Jan 13

story by editor-in-chief: Ashly Nicole

Calling all new music seekers: we’re thrilled to share the sweetest opportunity to give a first listen to Los Angeles local One Outta Ten and their new single, Distance Stars, has arrived and is ready to be streamed straight to your eardrums. The track serves as our first taste of their upcoming fourth album (TBD), and it’s one that lingers long after the first play.

At first listen, “Distance Stars” is an effortlessly easy groove, the kind of song you sink into without even realizing it. But as you sit with it a little longer and begin to peel back the layers, the track reveals itself as a possibly, quietly devastating love song. At its core, it feels like an ode to longing: wanting one specific person so deeply that no one else even comes close. That feeling is beautifully captured in the lines, “Seven sisters gazing through a void so blue. They’re beautiful but lover they just aren't you. I don’t want to know them, they could never know our love.” It perfectly encapsulates the idea that no matter how many people exist in the world, no one could ever compare to your person, and that the depth of that love is something outsiders could never fully understand. Throughout the chorus, the hook “Gold and glory would be way worse” is repeated like a quiet mantra. In this context, it reads as a rejection of spectacle, a refusal of the shiny, celebrated, fairytale version of love if it means losing the one that actually matters. It’s not about grand wins or public victories; it’s about choosing intimacy over applause.

Throughout the track, we’re met with themes of endurance and cosmic distance, asking whether this love can withstand the forces and obstacles of the universe itself. There’s an undercurrent of isolation too; can two people stand alone together in that eerily empty feeling of a place that’s usually full of life? That sense of kenopsia hangs gently in the background, giving the track an almost haunting emotional weight. Overall, “Distance Stars” is absolutely worthy of a spot in your daily rotation. It offers a calm, grounding pause, the perfect reset during an otherwise chaotic listening session. If this track is any indication of what One Outta Ten’s upcoming album has in store, it feels safe to say we might be leaning fully into our feelings a bit, and chances are, it’ll be a lot more relatable than we originally anticipated.

As One Outta Ten continues to carve out their place in the Los Angeles scene, we found ourselves curious about the people behind the project: how they started, what drives their sound, and what they’re building toward! So we sat down with them to ask them a few questions, to get to know them a little better, so ya’ll can see the people behind your new favorite jams.

CT: For readers just discovering One Outta Ten, how would you describe the project in your own words right now?

OOT: Our upcoming music will be focused on romantic love. All the good, bad, and ugly that happens in a relationship will be covered in this album. I think as the albums goes on, we go from a soft sound to a more dark, complex feeling, as I wanted to portray a relationship that goes to its breaking point. I think it’s safe to say that all of us in the band are in different places of our romantic life, and it was just fun to write about whatever we were feeling at the time. The songs can stand on their own, but I wanted them to be together in an album and I think we try to hit all angles of a relationship.

We tried to go from an indie pop opening (Two of Cups), to a more midwest emo sound (French New Waving Goodbye), spanning all the way to Distant Stars, which is a shoegaze-inspired rocker. I think people will be pleasantly surprised at what sounds we end up exploring on this upcoming album.

CT: Why the name One Outta Ten? How did the name & the band come to be?

OOT: We just needed a band name in high school. I think Tyler came up with One Outta Ten when we were just at band practice… I was playing around with numbers as the band name independently
(Triple Zeros would have been so edgy). At live performances we started saying 1/10 doctors recommended listening to us, but eventually we kinda “grew” into the name, if that makes sense. There was a period of time that we wanted to change the name. I think keeping the name One Outta Ten allowed us to have a thesis statement of just playing what we felt at the current moment. I’m particularly inspired by a band called King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, whose discography varies across multiple genres. I think I would love to take the band in that direction, of finding a topic and really going all in on that sound for a single album, and then moving on to the next thing.

As for how the band started, it really began with me and my brother David covering songs together in our garage. Our parents encouraged us to be somewhat fluent in music, so we did Beatles covers and 80s songs together. Once high school started, my friends James and Tyler joined the band to just round out the group. We just played school functions. By 2016-2017, I had begun writing my own material and would routinely pass it to the band. Sometimes I would upload to SoundCloud. We added a keyboardist Trey, and recorded an EP. At that point, we played as much as we could, but since we were all in college and in different areas, it was hard to keep a constant thing going. Trey left the band, and we had our friend Dustin replace him.

Eventually, COVID-19 happened, shuttering our first iteration of the band. Throughout 2020-2021, I started writing and recording our full-length projects “With Love” and “With Rage”, entirely in my garage.
My friend Eric Kubler (who is still largely involved with the band today) mixed and mastered every song on there to help us out. I think it was a good way to process my early young adulthood, as I just turned 22 and the world was closed. I had a lot of repressed emotions going on and nowhere for them to go but into the music.

James left the band and moved to Texas for a bit, and so we looked for a bassist. Our fan Mark had been trying to learn bass, and eventually I asked him to hop on for bass. I think that’s when the second iteration of One Outta Ten really began. 2021 brought back live performances. We started refining what we wanted to play for live sets, and growing our chemistry together as performers.

Eventually, Dustin left the band as well. We were out of a keyboardist, and played a few shows without one. Our mutual friend JT and I jammed out a few times, as I was trying to help him write some of his
own material. I don’t even remember how he became a part of the band, but it felt so seamless. I think at this point we’re in the third iteration of the band, and it feels like home.

CT: What tends to inspire your writing most at this point in your lives?

OOT: Love was a big emotion on this album. The past projects were different, as With Love and With Rage have a sort of lofi recorded-in-my-garage sound and Better Days was an excursion into grief
and early adulthood. I definitely feel like I’m in a good place with my relationship, but I have a lot of anxiety about the state of the world and often go to a place where I ask the question,
“what if this doesn’t work out?”

CT: Do you feel like your sound has evolved since your earlier releases, or is this album more of a continuation?

OOT: I think change is the name of the game. I don’t want to sound at all like we did previously. Change keeps things interesting, and makes me write more interestingly. As I was saying above, we’re on our third version of the band at this point. I feel like we’ve grown a lot together as individuals and as a unit. I didn’t even love these guys five years ago the way I do now. I might have not even known them five years ago, which is crazy to think about. I think expanding my world through friendship has really helped the songwriting process, as our early stuff was so full of anger and insecurity. Better Days was about losing someone you love when you weren’t ready to let them go. I think this album is about appreciating what you have before it slips away.

Plus, we finally wrote a shoegaze song!

CT: What do you hope people feel when they listen to your music?

OOT: I hope people can really feel like they’re seen. I tried to make this album a little more broad, especially compared to the last one. On Better Days, my dad passed away and all the writing went into processing that absence. Here, I feel like we wanted to get something out where it certainly wasn’t as specific. Everyone knows attraction, everyone knows love, everyone knows heartbreak. This was a fun project to not only make, but to listen back on. I hope people feel the yearning I felt when I made this album.

CT: The line “Gold and glory would be way worse” really stands out. What does that phrase mean to you in the context of the song?

OOT: Distant Stars is a song about relationship anxiety. It’s clear that the stars represent fame and fortune, something that could happen. It would be awesome if it did, quite frankly. I think a lot of people would like having the material wealth that is associated with stardom, but I wanted this song to be a rejection of that. I just want to live comfortably and make art. To me, “gold and glory would be way worse” means that if my band blew up and we became famous overnight, it would feel like it cheapened the relationship I have with my girlfriend. I want to “earn” what we have. I feel like the life we currently share wouldn’t be half as earned if we stayed together out of circumstance. We got here through hard times and grief that we shared together. I think that’s a beautiful thing.

The cover art is inspired by the tarot card Seven of Pentacles, which represents patience, the rewards of hard work, and evaluation progress. I was really lucky that the Pleiades also has seven stars.

CT: There’s a strong sense of longing throughout the track. Was this written from a specific experience or more of an emotional snapshot?

OOT: I think this was more of an emotional snapshot. My girlfriend and I met on Tinder back in 2020. We would take COVID tests before hanging out. We were hanging out every other week and kept telling ourselves “this is so casual” - until it wasn’t. I think about 3 months into our dating I was really taken by her, and we became an official couple. It’s been a long five years since then, and we recently moved in together after about six months living in Asia. She’s been there for me through some real low points, and I wanted to write a song about her that showed how much I appreciate her hard work and support.

CT: Why did “Distant Stars” feel like the right song to introduce this next chapter of the band?

OOT: Distant Stars is technically our third single for the upcoming album! We released Two of Cups earlier last year, but that was recorded as a one-off about three years ago. We recorded it at the same time we recorded Friends/Anyways, a crowd favorite, and we had no idea where it would have fit into our musical universe.

Eventually, around mid-2024, JT approached me with a song he wanted to make called French New Waving Goodbye. It was subsumed into our discography, and I thought to myself while recording it:
“This could be where we fit Two of Cups into.” I left for Asia around January of 2025, and the band took a six-month hiatus. When I came back, we went HARD into album mode. I was recording so much at home and made David record so many drums with our producer that I was feeling overwhelmed. It was a good experience looking back on it though. I am happy with where the project stands.

Distant Stars was a pleasant surprise. I think I was just writing aimlessly in July 2025 when I started strumming the opening riff by accident. It was a whirlwind of writing, and I think I had the song’s bones within a couple of days. After putting it together over a few months, I realized the solo was boring. I started playing around with guitar finger tapping, and threw it into the finished song. Mark and I recorded the bass at his house.

As for why Distant Stars is the new starting point for this new era: I think we really wanted to do more alt-rock songs on the upcoming album. We go a little heavier than you would expect. I think it’s the perfect blend of heavy and soft songwriting. I just really wanted to write a shoegaze love song!

CT: How does “Distant Stars” fit into the broader world of your upcoming album?

OOT: It [Distant Stars] will ultimately be one of the last songs on the album. Of the six songs I wrote on the album, three of them are about the relationship I’m currently in. These are all odes to the lovely woman I’m dating. The “story” of the album is about a relationship that gets more complex over time, ultimately culminating in a breakup. If we were looking at Distant Stars in the context of the album,
you could see it as a last-ditch effort asking the universe to not break your relationship up. This album really gets crazy at times, and I’m SUPER pumped for it to come out.

I want to reiterate: I am VERY happy in my relationship. I just wanted to write some songs that feel a little dark at times. On its own, I think Distant Stars is just a tribute to the greatest gift the universe has given me.

Now for a couple of more fun questions, because who doesn’t like those?

CT: You describe yourselves as, hangover rock forever blues, can you elaborate on that?

OOT: I think that tagline is about the fast times we used to experience as young adults. The “forever blues” implies that we never quite shake the melancholy that we experience. The fun times are a distraction, and we never get through them unless we really sit with them and work through them.

Therapy, people!

CT: If you had to describe each other in one word, what would it be?

OOT: For me (Josh), I think I can describe the guys as follows:

David (Drums): Fanatical. Dave is happiest behind the kit. He’s single-minded and just wants to play. Whenever we go to a show, the only thing he’s paying attention to is the drummer. He’s a self-taught legend.
JT (Keyboard, vocals, guitar): Gifted. He plays SO many instruments and brings a level of musicality that wasn’t there before. Naturally talented but with a real belief in our music and sound, he’s our secret weapon–the triple threat.
Mark (Bass): Committed. Mark is a hard-worker and plays a bunch of instruments (he learned bass to be in the band!). He's the most practiced for sure and his dedication to the music is a glue that holds the band together.
Tyler (guitar, vocals): Creative. Tyler is the best songwriter in the band. I think he is willing to take the extra mile to write lyrics that stand out. I love making music with the guy.

CT: What’s a song you wish you’d written? (that’s not yours, duh!)

OOT: We’ve collectively decided that “Man or Muppet” by Jason Segel is the song we wished we had written.

CT: What’s your current “can’t skip” song?

OOT: I have had “You Get What You Give” by The New Radicals on repeat since I rediscovered it a few years ago. I never skip it. It instantly makes me happier and I love that song -
THAT’S the type of song I wish I had written.

CT: If your band existed in another decade, which one would it be?

OOT: I think the band could have REALLY thrived during the early 2000s. I wish we could have played the early Coachella lineups. We are so inspired by the sound of the music from that era.
I think we would have made a great opener for The White Stripes or the Arctic Monkeys. Right now I wish we could open for Jeff Rosenstock or King Gizz.

CT: What’s on repeat for you lately when you’re not listening to your own music?

OOT: It really depends! Every time I work out, I put on “PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation” by King Gizzard.
It’s a prog-metal album that never fails to get me to do that last big lift. My girlfriend has been into the new Geese record lately, so we’re listening to that. I have been into The Callous Daoboys this past year,
a mathcore band that does insane genre shifts in the same song. I have also been listening to Bleeds by Wednesday, a band that I’d love to sound like. I saw Turnstile for the first time this year and I’ve had NEVER ENOUGH on repeat as well.

If you’re seeing a pattern here, it’s correct: I’d love to do some real heavy metal stuff soon with One Outta Ten.

CT: If someone is seeing you live for the first time, what should they expect?

OOT: Never expect the same setlist twice! Expect a big mosh, expect high energy, and expect the reality that you might cry. We have some emotional lyrics that are disguised behind heavy-hitting instrumentals. Our song “SCREAM!!!” always goes to an eight-minute extended version live, and we are always encouraging crowd participation in the chanting that takes place at the end.

CT: What do you hope new listeners take away after spending time with your music?

OOT: I hope they can understand themselves a little more after listening to our music. I want people to feel seen, to feel appreciated. I write One Outta Ten to be inclusive.
I always write what I feel, even if it's bad. ESPECIALLY if it’s bad. The more we attempt to understand how we feel, the better we can communicate our emotions. I love the idea that music can tie people together and transcend languages, cultural divides, levels of wealth, you name it. I want to make music that I would be a fan of. It makes me happy to do it for the world.

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to sit down and let us pick your brains! Make sure to go stream, Distant Stars and give all of One Outta Ten’s discography a listen. Do it now!