{"id":8040,"date":"2019-10-03T05:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T05:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=8040"},"modified":"2019-10-02T21:14:22","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T21:14:22","slug":"starcrawler-devour-you-rough-trade-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=8040","title":{"rendered":"Starcrawler – Devour You (Rough Trade Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The embers of 70\u2019s rock \u2018n\u2019 roll are still simmering away and one band ready to torch the world and bring it all back screaming are LA darlings Starcrawler. Their brand of weirdo art punk encapsulates everything I love about 70\u2019s rock and the 90\u2019s alternative movement into one melting pot of LA styled cool.<\/p>\n

Their notorious live shows combine the theatre of Alice Cooper with the raw, unbridled punk of Iggy & The Stooges. They release singles that don\u2019t appear on albums, make the coolest promo videos since the MTV heyday of David Lee Roth and Poison and they have a wild and wonderful singer named Arrow de Wilde who could be the bastard offspring of Iggy Pop and KatieJane Garside.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only been 18 months since their Ryan Adams produced debut album was released on an unsuspecting world, and now they return with their sophomore long player \u2018Devour You\u2019.<\/p>\n

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If you are a fan then you will have heard several of the songs on \u2018Devour You\u2019 already. Four singles have been released, with accompanying videos that will make you want to cruise the streets of LA in the summer sunshine.<\/p>\n

So, following the tribal beats and familiar de Wilde drawl on album opener \u2018Lizzy\u2019, we get the first of those singles \u2018Bet My Brains\u2019. A cool Stooges vibe is omnipresent as it builds on a smoky vocal and a trippy groove to a cool as you like chorus refrain. The messy guitars of Henri Cash collide with the great hooks that Arrow delivers and Starcrawler creates the most exciting noise since the mid 90\u2019s heyday of alternative rock.<\/p>\n

The latest single \u2018No More Pennies\u2019 sees the band take their brand of garage punk to radio-friendly levels that were merely hinted at on previous releases. With a Joe Perry like introduction riff, it builds to an uber cool summery chorus with a nice little country lick going on. The definite Pretenders\/Sheryl Crowe feel could alienate the punk rock audience but should be wholly embraced, as this is a band showing great maturity at this early point in their career. Great, lazy vocals and one of the album highlights.<\/p>\n

You could say this band is showing their diversity and their songwriting prowess on album number two. I mean, imagine if Susannah Hoffs joined L7 and was seen swinging her used tampon over her shoulder into a festival crowd…well, \u2019Rich Taste\u2019 could soundtrack that very moment.<\/p>\n

From the funky, post-punk feel of \u2018You Dig Yours\u2019 to the frantic noise of \u2018Toy Teenager\u2019 they deliver the goods. Elsewhere \u2018Hollywood Ending\u2019 and \u2018Born Asleep\u2019 remind this listener of Hole at their late 90\u2019s commercial peak. And \u2018She Gets Around\u2019 is possibly the best song Veruca Salt never released.<\/p>\n

Album closer \u2018Call Me A Baby\u2019 sees Arrow channel her inner Patsy Cline. As Henri picks a countrified guitar refrain, she drawls a lament with a delicate vocal as sweet as honey. A children\u2019s choir and brass instruments join in on the building chorus to the climax. The biggest compliment I can give is that it sounds like a song from a time gone by.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Devour\u2019 is an album that showcases the diversity and maturity of a band who have spent time on the road, yet are barely out of their teens. There is a strength to the songwriting that lesser bands would kill to possess. Starcrawler have come a long way in such a short time, only time will tell how far they can truly go, but I for one will be watching every step of the way.<\/p>\n

Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n

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Buy Devour You Here<\/a><\/p>\n