STAR DANCER
Star Dancer are a Detroit band that has been put together by David Star (aka Star Dancer), and Vinnie Dombroski and Tim Patalan of Sponge. The first couple of tracks are reminiscent of ‘Electric’ era Cult, are up tempo and quite catchy. The third track, ‘Great Sexpectations’, is similarly up tempo and, according to the press release, “explores the odd relationship we now have with love and sex”. However, this somewhat high-brow explanation doesn’t translate to the track itself and it comes across as something Poison or a band of that ilk would perhaps use as a b-side.
Next up is ‘She’s In Love with Joan Jett’, which is performed in a beefed-up, fifties rock n’ roll style and includes lyrics from Jett’s ‘I Love Rock N’ Roll’. This track might have sounded like a good idea when being planned in the studio but the end result is actually pretty weak. A change of pace follows with the psychedelically styled ‘The Weed Don’t Lie’. This is a slower, more reflective song and is a marked improvement on the preceding tracks. The improvement continues with ‘High and the Mighty’, which is a powerful rocker with some impressive female backing vocals, and ‘Annie’ which has a more commercial, pop-oriented sound, not that dissimilar to Tom Petty.
Unfortunately, after this mid-album ‘revival’, the album reverts to type with a cover (of sorts) of EMF’s ‘Unbelievable’. The song is interspersed with statistics about levels of suicide and homicide amongst children and teenagers in the US. Whilst the sentiment of this track is admirable, the result is rather lacking. The penultimate track, ‘IntraVenus FlyTrap’, is another up tempo rocker which is okay and the album closes with ‘Before I Die’, which has a revenge based theme and is pretty forgettable.
This is quite a difficult album to award a mark to as there is some good and interesting work here, predominantly in the middle of the album (‘The Weed Don’t Lie’; ‘High and the Mighty’; Annie’) but there is a lot more that is distinctly average and that doesn’t offer anything new or original. Referring to the press release again, it states the album is a snapshot into a “troubled modern day America” but, the ‘Unbelievable’ track aside, it completely fails to provide that snapshot.
Next up is ‘She’s In Love with Joan Jett’, which is performed in a beefed-up, fifties rock n’ roll style and includes lyrics from Jett’s ‘I Love Rock N’ Roll’. This track might have sounded like a good idea when being planned in the studio but the end result is actually pretty weak. A change of pace follows with the psychedelically styled ‘The Weed Don’t Lie’. This is a slower, more reflective song and is a marked improvement on the preceding tracks. The improvement continues with ‘High and the Mighty’, which is a powerful rocker with some impressive female backing vocals, and ‘Annie’ which has a more commercial, pop-oriented sound, not that dissimilar to Tom Petty.
Unfortunately, after this mid-album ‘revival’, the album reverts to type with a cover (of sorts) of EMF’s ‘Unbelievable’. The song is interspersed with statistics about levels of suicide and homicide amongst children and teenagers in the US. Whilst the sentiment of this track is admirable, the result is rather lacking. The penultimate track, ‘IntraVenus FlyTrap’, is another up tempo rocker which is okay and the album closes with ‘Before I Die’, which has a revenge based theme and is pretty forgettable.
This is quite a difficult album to award a mark to as there is some good and interesting work here, predominantly in the middle of the album (‘The Weed Don’t Lie’; ‘High and the Mighty’; Annie’) but there is a lot more that is distinctly average and that doesn’t offer anything new or original. Referring to the press release again, it states the album is a snapshot into a “troubled modern day America” but, the ‘Unbelievable’ track aside, it completely fails to provide that snapshot.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Star Dancer Records
Album
WELCOME TO MY WORLD
Review by Dave Uphill
RUNNING TIME:
38:05
RELEASE DATE:
20th April 2016
TRACK LISTING
1) Welcome to My World
2) Earth Mother Dancer
3) Great Sexpectations
4) She's In Love With Joan Jett
5) The Weed Don't Lie
6) High & The Mighty
7) Annie
8) Unbelievable
9) Intravenous FlyTrap
10) Before I Die
2) Earth Mother Dancer
3) Great Sexpectations
4) She's In Love With Joan Jett
5) The Weed Don't Lie
6) High & The Mighty
7) Annie
8) Unbelievable
9) Intravenous FlyTrap
10) Before I Die
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
"...the album is a snapshot into a “troubled modern day America” but, the ‘Unbelievable’ track aside, it completely fails to provide that snapshot."
