Starky

What a treat! I went down to check out JB Hi-Fi today and found Starky's self-titled second album in the "From 99cents" bin for a mere $2.99!

The song that introduced me to this Australian band (who sadly parted ways earlier this year) was, of course, "Hey Bang Bang." I remember I searched all over the place trying to find the single, and now their CD's just fallen into my lap :D

When you listen to Starky, you'll probably think back to another Aussie band, End of Fashion. So, I guess if you wanted to look for similarities, you'd most likely find them between these two bands. End of Fashion's songs all veered towards the, "Hm, this all sounds quite alike," side of the spectrum, though, and Starky don't do that :) Actually, now that I listen to it more and more, I can't help but think of Rock Kills Kid, although RKK are more alternative and a bit less poppy than Starky are. It's a very nice, punchy album on the whole; something you could put in the car and listen to during a road trip.

So to celebrate this happy day, I've posted, below, three of the best songs from the album (or what I reckon are the three best songs, anyway). It's all such pop-rocky/jangly goodness that it was a bit hard to choose, but in the end I managed to prevail!

Me Michelle -- I read a music blog (I can't remember which) once in which the author noted that he could usually accurately predict the tone of the rest of the album, just by listening to the opening track. Good opening track, good album to follow. That's the same with Starky -- Me Michelle sets the pace for a catchy, poppy, easy-listening (in the pop-rock sense) LP. It's got this synthy feel to it (I'm a big fan of synth-pop); a dancing track! I dunno. I'm not the best at picking out elements of a song and stuff like that; I just listen to it and if I like it, I go, "Hey this is cool, I like it!" and, well, I like this one.

We Generate Friction -- This is one of my favourites; it's just one of the many examples on this album of how the drums are a dominant force in Starky, and not just the necessary add-on! The drumming on this album (by Saul Foster), and especially this track, is a real treat, because it's always very prominent and it's not "just another backbone" instrument that's a support system of the band's music, but it's right up there working with the guitars and vocals -- challenging for the spotlight, almost. And it works. I daresay that the guitar is secondary, for this track.

She Got Ambition -- Again, the drums sold me on this track. A very strong, solid, marching beat, and coupled with the guitar it all makes for a very groovy (and also jangly, which should be a genre of its own) tune that will get your foot tapping, perhaps in or out of time to the music, but tapping nonetheless.

*If anyone from Starky/Starky management wants me to take the tracks down, please email me immediately at rocnmuzic at gmail dot com.

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