So, Glynn has given me my first CD to review. Its a 3 track demo by a band called Starscreen, a psychedelic Indie 4 piece. Starscreen don’t exactly jump up and scream brilliance at you, to be honest the first time I listened to the CD I really wasn’t sure if I liked it at all, but then again I always say the greatest CDs are the ones you can’t decide on after just one listen. Starscreen sort of sneak up on you like a drunk hippy on a late Saturday night, they jolt and stumble into your view and then start slowly gaining momentum until they are running straight towards you, arms waving, legs swinging and they are screaming at you but not screaming like angry Banshees but more like a preacher as he tells you the world is ending. At first your a bit confused, a bit scared or you just laugh and walk away but then you listen to what they are screaming and you watch how what first sounds abit chaotic is infact very ordered and you start to grin and then you start to run and then you want to scream “I’m feeling outta control!”
As a band, Starscreen are not the height of originality but they have definatly got a very nice sound. The guitar was like a great ship on waves of distortion, shooting up on the great wave of sound, floating high then just as you think it might capsize, it steadily and calmly slips back down and if the guitar is a ship then the bass and the drums are its crew. They go quietly about there business, nothing overly special, but just what’s needed to keep the ship afloat. Then you come to what for me stands out most, and is probably there biggest strength, the vocalist, in every song the vocals are powerful with a hint of classic 90s Manchester Brit-pop but with a soft edge to his voice that just let’s you want to know what it is he ‘wants to get high’ on exactly.
As for the tracks they all have variety and a nice use of dynamics. ‘Let Go’ is probably the rawest of the 3 tracks in which the guitar get right in your face and the singer tells you over and over to “Get High, Get High” and “Let Go, Let Go”, which is nice. With a raw, almost punk edge and being quite in your face it takes a few listens before you can really appreciate its full potential but it is a very solid and powerful track. I would say backing vocals would maybe add to it . Track 2 (Pilot) is abit slower but still has a chunky distortion and shows some very nice guitar work. There are moments in the middle 8th where imagines of Jim Morrison run though my head and I think ‘Pilot’ is my favorite track, with the hook line “I am feeling outta control” it just makes me want to break something or maybe punch some annoying figure of social status . Final track ‘The Fire’ has a mix feeling of 70s Rock and 90s Indie and was personally my least favorite song, but having said that its still a very powerful effort and once again has strong lyrics and good use of dynamics.
I would be interested to see Starscreen live, if they can make the guitars jump at you even more live and have as much charisma as some of the bands I hear when I listen to them, I can imagine they would explode on the live stage, on the other hand if this CD has been a real effort to produce and they go flat live I see a very different future. Starscreen are musically tight, they have good dynamics, a very good mix of sounds from a mix of influences and a very good vocalist. If you love 70s, the stone roses and get stoned, you will like what this CD is offering. As for having what it takes to make it, I would like to hear more.
Overall (3 / 5)
Review by Gaz
