{"id":98401,"date":"2026-01-13T09:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/98401\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:02:10","slug":"you-loved-me-like-a-pornstar-nycs-quarters-turn-desire-into-reckoning-on-their-cinematic-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/98401\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cYou Loved Me Like a Pornstar\u201d: NYC’s Quarters Turn Desire into Reckoning on Their Cinematic \u201cSTAR\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n NYC rock band Quarters channel cinematic release and emotional reckoning on \u201cSTAR,\u201d a cathartic confessional that marks a bold reintroduction \u2013 finding power not in softening the truth, but in saying it at full volume.
\n\"\"<\/a>\u00a0follow our Today\u2019s Song(s) playlist<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Atwood<\/a><\/p>\n

Stream: \u201cSTAR\u201d \u2013 Quarters<\/p>\n

You loved me like a pornstar, then blamed it on your co-star\u2026<\/p>\n

* * *
\nFrom its first surge of guitars and crashing drums, \u201cSTAR\u201d feels like a release valve blown wide open \u2013 loud with feeling, heavy with want, and impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

It begins with momentum already in motion, smoldering instruments snapping into place like the start of something unavoidable, and from there it never lets up. Quarters\u2019 latest release roars with a kind of widescreen urgency \u2013 cinematic, aching, and unapologetically bold \u2013 a song built to be felt in the chest, in the throat, in the bones. This is passion with teeth, and it demands your full attention.<\/p>\n

Searching through the waves,
are they with you?
I can feel the sun
when it\u2019s breathing down my neck
Everywhere I go, it\u2019s an odd future
And you can be yourself, yourself<\/p>\n

That intensity lives first and foremost in Ben Roter\u2019s voice. He sings like he\u2019s carrying the weight of every line as it leaves his body, pushing raw emotion through reverb-soaked chords and towering arrangements that feel both polished and feral. \u201cSay what you want, say what you want right now, I\u2019ve been alone, I\u2019ve been alone right now,\u201d he repeats, the words landing like a confrontation and a confession all at once. The band\u2019s synced rhythm section drives everything forward with purpose, while the guitars swell and crash around him \u2013 a constant churn of feeling that never quite resolves, only deepens.<\/p>\n

\"STARSTAR \u2013 Quarters
\nSay what you want,
say what you want right now
I\u2019ve been alone,
I\u2019ve been alone right now
I\u2019m in the city,
and here\u2019s what you wanted
\nYou loved me like a pornstar
Then blamed it on your co-star
We\u2019ve been stuck here for a long while
And I\u2019ve made peace
with your cold heart, cold heart<\/p>\n

For Quarters, that tension is the point. Recently reemerging under a streamlined moniker and entering a new creative chapter, the New York\u2013based band \u2013 formerly known as Quarters of Change, and comprised of Benjamin Orlen Roter, Jasper Gee Harris, and Attila Lee Anather \u2013 are writing with renewed clarity and conviction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never identified with any one genre or niche,\u201d Roter explains. \u201cWhat\u2019s been consistent over the years is a relentless focus on guitar-based music, live drums, and vocals. Whatever that produces is our \u2018sound.\u2019\u201d That philosophy courses through \u201cSTAR,\u201d which balances classic rock heft with a modern, emotionally charged sheen \u2013 expansive without losing its edge.<\/p>\n

\"QuartersQuarters \u00a9 Amyas Ryan<\/p>\n

Released in mid-November, \u201cSTAR\u201d arrives at a moment of reinvention for Quarters.<\/p>\n

Much of their new material has been self-produced by guitarist Jasper Harris, signaling a deeper trust in their instincts and a tighter creative core. After years spent touring alongside acts like Two Door Cinema Club, Bad Suns, and the Jonas Brothers \u2013 and following a recent EU\/UK run supporting The Band Camino \u2013 Quarters are now setting their sights firmly on what comes next, including a 2026 North American headline tour anchored by a two-night homecoming at Irving Plaza and a third record slated for spring 2026.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re searching for your friends,
are they with you?
Well, you can\u2019t blame the moon
for causing all this mess
And you can have it all if you just picture
Somewhere to be yourself, yourself
\nSay what you want,
say what you want right now
I\u2019ve been alone,
I\u2019ve been alone right now
I\u2019m in the city,
and here\u2019s what you wanted<\/p>\n

\u201cSTAR\u201d arrives alongside \u201cPLUMMET\u201d as the first releases of this new era, and together they outline who Quarters are becoming. \u201cThese two songs started our album cycle well because they combine our traditional rock sound with something new,\u201d Roter says. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely experimenting, but our roots are also stronger than ever.\u201d You can hear that push and pull throughout the track \u2013 the way its glossy exterior masks something darker underneath, the way its hooks pull you in even as the lyrics bristle with resentment and reckoning.<\/p>\n

At the center of the song is a sharp, unsettling metaphor. \u201cYou loved me like a pornstar, then blamed it on your co-star,\u201d Roter sings in the chorus, turning celebrity language into an indictment of emotional irresponsibility. For him, \u201cSTAR\u201d is \u201can angry ode to people who turn natural relationships into transactional ones, and how that makes me feel gross.\u201d He adds, \u201cIt\u2019s about people who don\u2019t take accountability for their actions, and blame their behavior on star signs.\u201d That frustration bleeds into every line \u2013 the bitterness of \u201cgive me back my summer\u201d echoing like a demand for stolen time, the repeated refrain of \u201ccold heart\u201d settling in with chilling finality.<\/p>\n

You loved me like a pornstar
Then blamed it on your co-star
We\u2019ve been stuck here for a long while
And I\u2019ve made peace
with your cold heart, cold heart
\u2018Cause you played me like you made it
Just to turn around and fake it
Give me back my summer
I know you feel the same way
So blame it on your co-star
And hide me like an old scar
\n\"QuartersQuarters \u00a9 Theodore Sielatycki & Oliver J. Frisby<\/p>\n

Musically, Quarters lean fully into the drama of it all.<\/p>\n

The song\u2019s reverb-heavy palette and layered guitars give it a sweeping, late-night scale, while its dynamics rise and fall like emotional aftershocks. There\u2019s a softness to its atmosphere, but never a lack of force \u2013 the kind of track that swells higher with each pass, revealing new fractures and flashes of vulnerability beneath its surface-level shine. That duality is intentional. \u201cI hope people hear the darker undertones, not just the surface-level shininess,\u201d Roter says. \u201cI hope it empowers people to break away from things that aren\u2019t serving them and to find something better.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes this song hit as hard as it does is its refusal to soften its message. \u201cYou played me like you made it, just to turn around and fake it,\u201d Roter sings, his voice climbing higher as the track barrels forward. It\u2019s confrontation without apology, catharsis without neat closure \u2013 a reminder that sometimes the most powerful thing a song can do is tell the truth at full volume.<\/p>\n

With \u201cSTAR,\u201d Quarters don\u2019t just reintroduce themselves \u2013 they ignite. This song aches and explodes in equal measure, marrying scale and sincerity into something thrillingly alive. This is rock music that still believes in impact. Quarters recently sat down with Atwood Magazine to talk about the tension, reinvention, and hard truths behind \u201cSTAR,\u201d what this new era has unlocked creatively, and why it finally feels like the right time to say exactly what they mean.<\/p>\n

Read our interview below, and get lost in the thrill of \u201cSTAR\u201d wherever you stream music.<\/p>\n

You loved me like a pornstar
Then blamed it on your co-star
We\u2019ve been stuck here for a long while
And I\u2019ve made peace
with your cold heart, cold heart
\u2018Cause you played me like you made it
Just to turn around and fake it
Give me back my summer
I know you feel the same way
So blame it on your co-star
And hide me like an old scar<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2014<\/p>\n

:: stream\/purchase STAR here<\/a> ::
\n:: connect with Quarters here<\/a> ::<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2014<\/p>\n

Stream: \u201cSTAR\u201d \u2013 Quarters<\/p>\n

A CONVERSATION WITH QUARTERS<\/p>\n

\"STAR<\/p>\n

Atwood Magazine: Quarters, for those who are just discovering you today through this writeup, what do you want them to know about you and your music? <\/p>\n

Ben Roter: I want them to know we don\u2019t like AI.<\/p>\n

Ben Roter: We\u2019ve never identified with any one genre or niche. What\u2019s been consistent over the years is a relentless focus on guitar-based music, live drums, and vocals. Whatever that produces is our \u2018sound.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"QuartersQuarters \u00a9 Theodore Sielatycki & Oliver J. Frisby<\/p>\n

\u201cSTAR\u201d and \u201cPLUMMET\u201d are your first two tracks since you changed your name earlier this year. Why \u201creturn\u201d with these two songs together, and how do you feel they capture who Quarters is right now, heading into 2026?<\/p>\n

Ben Roter: These two songs started our album cycle well because they combine our traditional rock sound with something new. We\u2019re definitely experimenting, but our roots are also stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

This song’s title comes from the interplay between \u201cpornstar\u201d and \u201cco-star\u201d in the chorus. What\u2019s this song about, for you, and how did you come about crafting this softer, cinematic sound?<\/p>\n

Ben Roter: We wrote this song out in LA with a producer who is definitely known for this sound you mention. For me, the song is an angry ode to people who turn natural relationships into transactional ones, and how that makes me feel gross. It\u2019s about people who don\u2019t take accountability for their actions, and blame their behavior on star signs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPLUMMET\u201d might just be your heaviest song, full-stop. What brought this one about? <\/p>\n

Ben Roter: Anger.<\/p>\n

\"QuartersQuarters \u00a9 Theodore Sielatycki & Oliver J. Frisby<\/p>\n

These two tracks are incredible \u2013 I’m reminded of \u201880s heavyweights like Journey and Def Leppard on the one hand, and \u201890s alternative bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, and The Smashing Pumpkins on the other. Who are some of your current influences and inspirations, and what sounds are most inspiring Quarters these days?<\/p>\n

Ben Roter: Influences are different for everybody in the band, which is why it all sounds the way it does. For me, I\u2019ve been listening to a lot of Beach House, Roy Orbison, Stevie, Hendrix\u2026. not any one of them too intensely. I\u2019ve been focusing on making my own music and not having it be too parallel to what came before. That was the goal, to stand on my own two musical feet.<\/p>\n

What do you hope listeners take away from \u201cSTAR,\u201d and what have you taken away from creating it and now putting it out?<\/p>\n

Ben Roter: I hope it empowers people to break away from things that aren\u2019t serving them and to find something better. I hope people hear the darker undertones, not just the surface-level shininess.<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2014<\/p>\n

:: stream\/purchase STAR here<\/a> ::
\n:: connect with Quarters here<\/a> ::<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2014<\/p>\n

Stream: \u201cSTAR\u201d \u2013 Quarters<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014<\/p>\n

\"STAR<\/p>\n

Connect to Quarters on
Facebook<\/a>, \ud835\udd4f<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>
\nDiscover new music on Atwood Magazine<\/a>
\n\"?\"\/ \u00a9 Theodore Sielatycki, Oliver J. Frisby<\/p>\n

:: Today\u2019s Song(s) ::<\/p>\n

\"Atwood<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0follow our daily playlist on Spotify<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n