STARFUCKER: REPTILIANS
[rating:2]
Starfucker: Reptilians
Label: Polyvinyl Records
Release date: March 8, 2011
Joshua Hodges started Starfucker as a solo act in Portland, Oregon four years ago. He gained citywide acclaim for danceable electro pop that ruled the house party circuit and left all the tight jeans and ironic Def Leppard shirts ripe with sweat. Soon the band expanded in numbers and a self-titled LP was released in 2008 but failed to gain the band a much wider audience. Their live show continued to earn higher marks than studio work. At some point in 2009the band changed their name to PYRAMID and then apparently to Pyramiddd.Soon thereafter, they pulled a switcheroo and returned to their original name. However, they now tour as STRFKR. Got all that?
As one of Portland’s belovedindie productsthe band releases their second LP,Reptilians, on SF imprint Polyvinyl.In the band’s early days, Hodges was hailed for his combination of hummable pop song structures and quirky electronica, a blend now ubiquitous across the world. On Reptilians, the band faces the sophomore challenge of trying to figure out where the first album missed and establish themselves as an emerging force to be reckoned with.Unfortunately, there isn’t enough about the album to make a strong impression. The problems are two fold. Most egregiously, the band cranks their snappy synth leads so high in the mix they clobber instead of inspire, seemingly dying to be recognized as the next“Time to Pretend”. Second, the vocals are far too hushed, plaintive and washed out, showing little urgency or emotion. Breathy and ethereal is one thing but thesevocals lack passion andmake Hodges sound as if he is drowning in a pool of opaque water. The songs are on the whole, unmemorably ho-hum.
In the middle third of the album Starfucker finds their zone for a few songs. “Astoria” is mixed more effectively, vocals are audible, acoustic guitar loops converse with the click-clack of e-drums and vibrant synth lines dip and dive without smothering the song completely. “Reptilians” is a weird little nugget of electro-psych-pop that shows off solid songwriting skills with sweetly warped guitar and a synth sound that seeps inside one of the album’s thicker grooves. The band shows off a bit more creative patience here, vibeing with delicate structural changes inside three minutes and instantaneously turn the song into mournful electro candy. “The White of Noon” is the album’s strongest track. A stoned groove lays back before exploding in a processed sunburst of spacious guitar melodies. It is in this moment the band shows off greater purpose and energy. Unfortunately, this moment doesn’t come until half an hour in and it’s not clear why listeners would hang around that long when so many bands compete for a similar sound. It is simply hard to see this collection standing apart from the pack.
