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Star Club West | This Is Howie

CD, Labelman/Konkurrent

Tekst: TJ Hatton

Publicatiedatum: 29 maart 2001

I couldn't possibly pass judgement on this album without first mentioning the cover, which features what appears to be a herd of female deer in fully outstretched flight across a midnight sky, presumably escaping from yet another outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Bambi fixations aside, Star Club West display a penchant for languidly delivered vocals, piano-tinged ballads, melancholic lyrics, and guitars that gently weep. They have plenty to recommend them, from melodic opener 'Fragment Drop', interspersed with short bursts of distorted guitar, to 'Enjoying the Elbow Room', the accoustic soother that closes the album. Instrumentally, 'Stereo Design' has its feet firmly rooted in Pavement territory, yet with a decidedly un-Pavement-like level of lyrical clarity, evinced by the opening line "This is the sound of a broken wing in a crash." The same emotional frankness can be heard on 'How Nice You Drop By', which is sweetly reminiscent of the original 1974 version of Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day'. Star Club West exist in the twilight zone that lies somewhere between evening and night, an all too brief period of time that brings with it a sensation of tranquility and calm. Returning to the wildlife theme of the album cover and to loosely paraphrase an artist formerly known as Prince: This is what it sounds like when does fly.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/star-club-west/this-is-howie/265/
Meer Star Club West op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/star-club-west