Dead Stars - High Gain EP
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| Dead Stars - High Gain |
Come the summer time, everyone
has their preferred soundtrack for cruising the streets on foot or with your
car windows rolled down. Some like banging dance tunes, some prefer reggae and
others like to blast out a bit of Ska. Personally, I can't think of anything
better than cruising through the country lanes where I live, catching glimpses
of the sea and letting some lo-fi, scuzzed up, indie tunes drift out of the car
stereo - preferably with a drawly American accent. For this very reason,
residents of South East Cornwall should listen out for Dead Star this weekend when
I head off in my little car. The Brooklyn trio, you see, make me feel 17 again
- an age at which I was discovering a whole host of bands from Weezer and
Dinosaur Jr through to Feeder and Sebadoh. This five track EP kicks off with
some up-tempo, choppy guitars and rumbling drums that draw you in instantaneously
as 'Waste Away', an immediate slacker's anthem, sets the mood for the next 20
minutes or so. 'Let It Go' has a more dirgy, laboured feel to it but that's
just the way I like it (as will my local farmer, no doubt). Third track,
'Fractured', though is where these guys really hit their stride with a great
guitar hook that Feeder would kill for right now and the kind of sentiment
(broken hearts, small ambitions) that my inner teenager is desperate to
identify with if only he was allowed. The fuzzy guitars, the throbbing bass,
the muddy drums nice and low in the mix and the We Are Scientists-esque vocal
melodies are all I need to be convinced but there are still two tracks to go!
The pace gets slower with
'Staring At The Sun' with a circular riff that has you nodding rhythmically
along without realising and an arrangement that is so simple, so pure that I
can't help but dive right in. EP closer, 'No Sympathy', is an optimistic but
grungy little number with some gorgeous chords that mirror the chugging bass to
create a perfect soundtrack for a good wallow. The only problem I have is that
for this to be an Indie Disco smash it needs a huuuuge ending and it doesn't quite manage it but hey-ho, they can't hit every
nail head on, can they? Dead Stars are probably never going to play stadiums
but you'd offered a 17 year old me the opportunity to be in an awesome
indie-grunge-pop band that lives in Brooklyn I would literally have snapped
your arm off. Clean off, no blood or nothing. Come to think of it, offer me
that now and I would be tempted. Go on, I dare you....
More information: https://www.facebook.com/deadstarsmusic
Live dates:
31st July - Glasslands Gallery, Brooklyn (w/ The Hairs, The
Teen Age, Honduras)