Clouded Staircase

The LP-format track listing and Kodachrome photos certainly set up the retro vibe on Starling Electric's Bar None debut, Clouded Staircase (not to mention the Blossom Toes font on the cover). If you happen to know what a "Blossom Toes font" is, and you are still reading this, don't stop now, because this record is probably your cup of tea. The CD's look certainly befits the content, with its heady vibe of Zombies-inspired vocal acrobatics, Brian Wilson arrangement know-how, and patchwork bell bottom-pantedness. Clouded Staircase is most decidedly retro all around, but pulling from so many different period sources that the music can be described more precisely as retro-informed, rather than retro for retro's sake. These gentlemen have record collections — big, sprawling, eclectic ones. The kind that any serious '60s-'70s pop aficionado would have accumulated over the course of a lifetime (Brian Wilson, Left Banke, ELO, the Beatles, Love, Gilbert O'Sullivan, solo McCartney, pre-disco Bee Gees) with the added spice of some kitsch favorites, as well as the work of more modern pop purveyors (Jason Falkner, Eggstone, Matthew Sweet, the Posies). A pretty standard lineup for fans of this stuff, though you might also notice that there's a huge stack of Guided by Voices 7"s next to the turntable. Make a note of that, because what Starling Electric has, over every other '70s pop-kissed revival band out there, is guts. Among the pretty and the flowery lurks an element of sexy danger — a real "rock" danger, bordering on punk — that manifests itself in the lyrics as well as the frequent fearless guitar outfreakages. Not a twee note to be found here, no sir. Dewy, yes — but never overtly precious. Just listen to the glorious and garagey din the fellows whip up on "The St. Valentines Day Massacre" and "Black Ghost/Black Girl," two bona fide rockers that manage to deliver the goods in the "pretty" department as well. That's a tough trick to pull off without sounding like a schizophrenic train wreck, and the Starlings make a habit of pulling it off, with aplomb, throughout Clouded Staircase's 18 tracks. ~ J. Scott McClintock, Rovi