Stellastarr

While mining the wealth of brilliance too often overlooked when one thinks of the music of the 1980s, Stellastarr have made their own post-punk pop distinct. You'll find this hyper-extended stylistic workout somewhere between the Cure's gothic drama and the crunch of the Pixies and the Wedding Present.

Stellastarr singer Shawn Christensen has a monster of a voice -- sometimes he bays and
yelps (as on the excellent "My Coco"), and sometimes he unleashes a guttural roar
("Jenny"). To their credit, his bandmates don't let Christensen steal the show, weaving
sexy, impassioned New Wave into feedback-laden guitar rock for a sound that is part
Pixies, part New Order, and demonstrates a truly elegant sense of pacing and de... More >