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stellastarr*

Civilized

Label: Bloated Wife

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While the new-rave culture tainted the taste of new music in 2006, New Yorker’s stellastarr* peaked through with their polished second album Harmonies For The Haunted counteracting their fiery art-punk debut and pulling us through neon nonentities.

Almost four years later, the band returns with their first US tour and album Civilized, with their own label and stripped sound. Purging their past efforts, vocalist Shawn Christensen admits to throwing out “most of the songs we’d written over the past year”, to return to a “raw, back to basics” sound. So chalking up their previous slick sound, Civilized delivers an ironic punch in the face, with thick post-punk passion in scorching riffs and harrowing scratchy vocals.

Significantly Christensen’s clawing vocal chords arrive as the stripped entity in the album, starkly removed from the husky swoons that challenged the likes of Paul Banks in their debut stellastarr*. Yet even with the opening track ‘Robot’ the singer clings on to his trademark soprano heights with ethereal expression firing through the expert electronic guitar. In the transition, the track ‘Freak Out’ reveals Christensen’s husky shouts gradually finding form in the memorable four minute wonder ‘Tokyo Sky’, reminiscent in lyrics and 90s guitar rock melody.

‘Numbers’ represents within the album as an honest punk rock attempt, with heavy guitar and percussion hooks, taking the band into a thrashing pace. But though the band floats towards traditional rock progressions, ‘Graffiti Eyes’ spins a web through genres, first by pulsating bass guitar amongst crisp percussion and bopping vocals reviving SKA roots. The track then intertwines with bassist Amanda Tannen ‘s breathy backing “Ah ahhhs” softening into pop punk art, showcasing the experimental playfulness the band continues to enjoy years later.

Now with a name like ‘Prom Zombie’, the track is without a doubt a hit; with vocal interaction transforming into lyrical banter, the restless guitar and uniting vocals, ending in feel good claps, the band’s energy is delightfully catching. Yet in deep octave poignancy, the track ‘Warchild’ is a shuddering displacement in the album, using haunting throaty tones in lyrics “You need to show me some signs of life” demanding a reawakening of teenage dormancy. In these fleeting moments of boldness where stellastarr* goes further than form just the “raw” and “basic”, the album confessing as a distorted punk piece and evidently reveals the band’s unavoidable appeal to grasp various directions. - Gemma Dempster