STELLASTARR*

If Robert Smith of The Cure impregnated The Smiths-era Morrissey, and the resulting child was raised on a healthy diet of his daddy's music, The Cars, old school U2, and a steady stream of pre-Uncle Buck John Hughes' flicks (mainly for the soundtracks), well, that child would start a band that sounds much like Stellastarr*. (Yes, that's how they spell their name, children.)
Stellastarr* is yet another Eighties new wave/pop sounding band, kind of like Interpol or,.. some other band like them. It this reads as negative to you, get back in line for your Summer Sanitarium tickets, meathead.
For what it's worth, I see this as a good thing. Of course, in the Eighties I was a chubby goofball kid who listened to Bon Jovi, White Lion, and Debbie Gibson-- Electric Youth is a TOTALLY underrated album-- so I don't really know much about the bands that have more than likely influenced Stellastarr*. But I know what I like, and this here Stellastarr* music is pretty good. It's catchy, and has a lot of the Eighties sounding jangly/echoey guitar sound and emotive singing that I like so much.
No doubt, when this advance copy of their first full-length album arrived at the fabled Chicken Coop, editor and scholar Insane Wayne Chinsang listened to the CD and said, "This is gay," in his trademark non-homophobic way. Then he thought, "Let's give this to that D.J. girl to review," as he kept some pseudo-Manson CD shit for his fool self, because everyone knows that Wayne likes shit. And that's completely cool with me. Free CDs rock, even if they suck. But Stellastarr* doesn't. So, yay for them. And yay for me. 'Cause I gots me a free CD. And a good one, at that.
VISIT STELLASTARR* HERE.