Kimi Shelter and crew at album n3 and what can you expect? Unfortunately for music journalists who like the cancel culture preachers love only "innovative", left wing approach to music ,even if it is a pulp of uninspired material, STARBENDERS are stuck and love the 80s from Pat Benatar to GUNS N ROSES.
"Sex" is a provocative (?) song challenging the MeToo followers with its "sexist" lyrics and the music lovers of plastic pop rock with the distorted, earthy guitar solo. A song from a Tokyo rock joint in the BLADE RUNNER era, imitating the glory days of sleaze in the sterile, non sex defiant days of the 21st century. But when you listened to THE STOOGES, the result would be something like "Body talk". Distorted punk rock in the 00, for those who still remember Wendy and TRANSIVISON VAMP and again great , minimal but lethal guitar work from Kriss Tokaji. "We're not ok" is a minimalistic exercise in guitar driven plastic pop , a hybrid for the Spotify opiated masses who live their music single by single. Emo and FM rock influenced mid tempo "Cherry wine" keeps up the good work of distracting the listener and making the audio footprint of STARBENDERS difficult to recognize and categorize the band in one genre. STARBENDERS love the past but live full throttle in the present incorporating in their sound everything that could make it more catchy.
Billy Idol would love to have in his setlist "Seven white horses" the same way Siouxsie and the Banshees would do but the winner here is Fleetwood Mac who leave their footprint all over Shelter's vocal delivery."The end is near" is another alternative spiced , heavy sleaze rocker, for a world coming to an end, raging and dark.You can tlove 80s rock n roll and not love MOTORHEAD and "Blood moon" is the tribute to Lemmy and Co by THE STARBENDERS, heavy as a wrecking ball, dirty and stinky as "American pie" teenagers socks. They dressed up in their FM friendly , big riff costume and come up with "Marianne" with the characteristic keyboards making the chorus a honey dripping exercise in melody, a blt like Sandra goes heavy metal.Is there any more 80s characteristic rock song to cover than "Poison"? guess not and STARBENDERS cover is faithful and as their whole music reliable, giving a female touch at the vocals to this 80s Hard rock classic.The follower "Midnight" has the pop/goth name written all over it, an upbeat song written for the "Twilight" generation with great heavy guitars. The album closes with "Say you will '' is another STARBENDERS triumph, heavy guitars, a mid tempo rhythm reminiscent of SUPERTRAMP and some 80s new wave synths, creating an FM friendly, rock song.
STARBENDERS gave us one more album where they blend their love for 80s with 00 and more contemporary sounds, sleaziness and a female vocalist with distinctive, characteristic voice. If you like your rock dirty and melodic, this is the perfect album in 2023 for you.
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