THE FLAMING STARS
Sunset & Void (Alternative Tentacles)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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Wow, a new band on Alternative Tentacles, instead of a rerelease of something from 30 years ago. And they're cool, too - got that Urge Overkill loungey feel to them, with low up-front vocals (courtesy of Max Décharné), rumbling percussion, cheesy, '70s-style keyboards, and twangy, echoey Southwest guitar. Lots of songs with cowboy-type focus, trains and prairie and psychopaths in rainstorms. The real strength of these pieces is the overall sound as opposed to what the lyrics are about - the low-register vocals blend in perfectly with the beautifully melancholy accompaniment, perfect for playing in the car while driving madly away from the home of a lyin' cheatin' spouse, or maybe just for sometime when you're really late for work and mad as hell about it.

© 2002 - Holly Day