Starcrawler Keeps One Riff In Glam And Another Fist In Metal On ‘She Said’ (ALBUM REVIEW) – Glide Magazine

Los Angeles Starcrawler, featuring Arrow De Wilde (vocals), Henri Cash (guitar), Bill Cash (guitar), Tim Franco (bass), and Seth Carolina (drums), have taken the Rock is dead pessimists to task ever since releasing their self-titled debut album in 2018. Devour You followed just a year later and now the young quintet has creatively and seamlessly brought glam, punk, rock, and even disco together for their latest album, She Said. Clocking in at just under 34 minutes, one could divide its ten songs into three distinct categories of rock and roll; heavy rock and roll, radio-friendly pop rock, and mellow, soft rock all in a good way.

For the heavier end, the band puts the pedal to the metal right out of the gate with Roadkill which bludgeons the senses like unrelenting punches to the face and to the ears for that matter. Its hypnotic chorus will have you journey to a whole new state of mind. De Wilde deploys sweet come-ons, a la Courtney Love and Hole, before the listener is hit upside the head with a barrage of power chords and tension-inducing fills and leads from the Cash brothers. De Wilde said in a statement, that She Said was one of the first songs written for this album. It was at the beginning of the pandemic and Henri came to my window and played me the demo, and we wrote the lyrics together like Romeo and Juliet. Its what really kicked off the writing process of this album, and it was such a powerful moment that we wanted to name the record after that song. Rounding out the heavy-hitters, Runaway finds Starcrawler upping the ante on a quasi-punk barnburner that bests early Green Day-tones with more polished riffs and tension-inducing licks and fills.

Caught somewhere in the middle of the road with some radio-friendly pop rock is Thursday that, intentional or not, captures the feel of the late 80s as if the Go-Gos and The Cars had a crossover hit. The dynamic of unnerving guitars mixed with upbeat drums and pop-princess vocals is undeniably catchy, fun, and contagious. Lower the bedazzled disco ball the fun and funky Jetblack, where Starcrawler seemingly gives a nod to Blondie or at least to disco. A more complex bassline in the mix showcases both Francos maturity and talent throughout the track, one that will undoubtedly cause ones ass to shake to the left and to the right. Carolinas skills behind the kit, keep this nugget in the pocket. The uber-short True Deranged follows with a no-nonsense sensibility and at only two minutes and two seconds, the band keeps it simple but effective with this raw rocker that should not be overlooked.

On the more mellow, soft rock spectrum, the band offers up Broken Angels, Midnight, and A Better Place. Angels doubled choruses alongside the melodramatic pedal steel conjure a lullaby effect. Midnight is full of lament and longing a classic rock ballad and its hard not to make a comparison to a couple of acoustic gems like Torn and Frayed or Moonlight Mile by Rolling Stones. In this case, the comparison is simply a compliment. Starcrawler does not shy from exploring different sounds and genres, ultimately showcasing its talents.

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Starcrawler Keeps One Riff In Glam And Another Fist In Metal On 'She Said' (ALBUM REVIEW) - Glide Magazine