As the whirling keyboards and building drums come in, The Starrling’s first track on this 4 track demo starts with a circus style organ and straight away sounds fun. As the catchy funky guitars shoot into ear shot and the clear yet raw vocals, chant out the opening lyrics, it is clear that The Starrlings like to write songs with a funky, catchy and party rock’n” roll feel. ‘Looking Through Me’ really uses good vocal harmonies to add power to their sound and with the interlocking bass riffs, guitars and big organs, it is fast moving fun, funky, pop-rock that gets your feet moving. These guys have based their sound on all the classic legendary pop singer-songwriters, the harmonies and emotional hook lines plus the fact that The Starrlings move away from the old verse,chorus, verse, chorus structure in this first track, really leaves a good first impression. With a big build up at the end, intergrating the really good hook line ‘set yourself on fire’ you straight away are put into a happy and relaxed mood.
Second Track: ‘New York’ starts with a more traditional Rock n Roll guitar which reminded me of Ocean Colour scene, the second guitar solos over top before those raw, rough vocals kick in and again the nice harmonies add the emotion. This track is rougher and rawer than the previous one and has a very 70’s rock n roll feel with a bluesy influence. The backing vocals again work well and with OOooos and Ahhhhhs it has a very full sound. The drumming is varied and tight and with the walking bass keeps the song moving. After a few nice hooks, the song moves into a chilled out vocal break down, which had a sort of Kula Shakar feel to it. The Starrlings not only know how to write catchy pop-rock songs but they have very good dynamics and mix in some interesting influences. This song, like Looking Through me, is really infectious using a mix of 90’s indie but with a more raw dirty and cutting rock n roll edge which makes it have a purer more passionate 60’s feel. The nice, moving guitar solo at the end, fits perfectly and without being too technically clever, adds emotion and still makes a point.
‘Love Is A Curious Thing’ is the next track and this suddenly has a different feel exchanging the rock n roll party sound for a more emotional acoustic ballad that is slower than the others. Rather than being guitar based rock this song is structured around a really great piano riff. The soft vocal suit this love ballad and with some nice lyrics and again great backing vocals (which are put in in just the right places) it is full of emotion and power. Even though this song is a little cheesey for my normal taste, it is perfect for a slow romantic dance anhd when your in a soppy mood it really hits the spot. It also has an interesting alt country feel with the big piano which sounds really beautiful, reminding me a bit of Ryan Adams, this bluesy influence gives this song an interesting edge. Using major scales the song really moves well and builds up nicely showing the softer edge to The Starrlings sound. The piano sweeps this song along before a well worked, soft and moving guitar solo (which is mixed very well so its not over the top but intergrates into the song well) builds toward the end before finally giving lead back to the piano and finishing what is a almost perfect ballad.
Bringing the tempo back up final track ‘I Knew You’d Come’ starts with a driving funky riff before some nice drum fills, lead us into another catchy bouncy rock song. The catchy lyrics which like the first 2 tracks are really infectious and well written, make you want to tap your feet and with the big chorus once again kicking in, you can sing along to The Starrlings songs after a few listens. The harmonies are excellent again and this time the piano is very bluesy with a hint of jazz, it’s subtle scales support the bouncing bass, guitars and drums well. There are some nice changes in dynamic and the ending keeps changing very subtly, using a mix of harmonies and backing vocals to build up the song over and over before cutting out. The Starrlings use really traditional song structures and even though it has been done before, they do this pop rock’n’roll style brillinatly. The recording is also quite raw and bass heavy at times, but it really suits there sound and gives it an extra kick. They go softer at just the right time before building back up into their huge, infectious choruses, having some great lyrics and using all there instruments just right to keep the songs flowing and infectious. The really raw and rough emotional vocals, emobody the spirit of the 50’s and 60’s, with the drive of bands like The Rolling Stones and Led Zepplin. It makes you want to be in love, dance round the room and be happy and it put a stupid grin on my face. This demo shows that The Starrlings are musically excellent but they don’t need to over do the technicalities as their songs are well structured and move really well. Passionate, upbeat, flowing music which has a universal appeal.
Overall (3.5 / 5)
Review by Gaz
What about the last two track….EH?
