« spondees kept falling out of my mouth | Main | pockets full of rainclouds »
October 31, 2005
razed Carthage to the ground.
Like with Kingsbury Manx, I was introduced to Starlet as a sort of substitute band for Belle & Sebastian (when B&S were between albums). Which isn't to say that Starlet don't have their own sound (they do), but if you listen to this song, it's easy to hear where they overlap with the masters of Scottish twee storycore-pop. The similarities might be due more to common influences though, i.e. the Smiths (which you can hear more on the second song here). Jonas Farm, the lead singer, definitely has that wispy, delicate way of singing, very much in the 'schoolboy pining for a lost love' vein (a good thing). Also, the band's from Malmo, Sweden, by the way (just thought you should know).
'Moving On' is from their second album, "Stay On My Side" (released in 2000), which is by far their best LP. Surprisingly enough, this song starts off with some deep, Jim Eno-ish bass drum hits, and riffs it up with some lightly distorted electric guitar and Farm's soft vocals, "yes, I'm moving on/I'm tired I won't be seeing you again". A break-up song through and through, there's an interesting lyric early on that mentions 'almost falling in love', which makes it seem like this relationship was more of a one-sided crush on the narrator's part (and makes the "moving on" part of this translate into something more like 'I will be transferring my quiet adoration elsewhere'). Notwithsatnding the slight and nagging similarity to the Friends theme song, this is a fantastic little pop jam (and not even the best one from this album).
'It Could Happen' is a hyper, brightly-colored tune, and it features not only janglier guitars than 'Moving On', but also Starlet's version of Stevie Jackson on back-up vocals (to further extend the lazy and forced B&S comparison). Jazzy organ on this one, and some rambunctious guitar lines while the non-Jonas singer pipes in during the chorus, sounding kind of like a resident of the American South trying to do a hard-ass Cockney accent (I know I'm making this sound hideous, but somehow it works wonderfully). The switch between the two vocalists is so annoying, but in a great way. 'It Could Happen' is from the band's debut album, which you can find over here at Parasol, along with "Stay On My Side", and the band's third (and 2nd best) album, "When Sun Falls On My Feet".
Starlet hasn't released anything since 2002, but there's some talk on the website of a new album coming out soon (with a possible title of "Songs for the Pathetically Hapless"- how sad-bastardly awesome is that??). Hopefully they'll be able to match the effortless, wistful pop of "Stay On My Side".
Posted by Kevin at October 31, 2005 12:07 AM