Wednesday, May 27, 2015

New Single from Brooklyn's Dead Stars

Photo: Susan Hunt

"Calm Punk"

Just about a year ago, Brooklyn's Dead Stars released what would end up being one of my favorite records of 2014. Slumber is a collection of fuzzy, 90s-influenced, guitar pop that I absolutely (metaphorically) wore out over the course of last summer.

I feel like I read or saw somewhere once that the band described their fuzzed-out pop sound as "calm punk." I may be imagining that, but it describes their laid-back yet sometimes hard-edged sound pretty well. It's also the title of the first single from their forthcoming, second LP.

"Calm Punk" delivers more of what I loved from Slumber. Like Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Weezer, or some of the recent descendants of those bands, Dead Stars drench their hook-laden pop in noise and distortion. There are some meaty guitar leads and aggressive vocals, but things don't get too crazy. It all stays pretty easygoing, almost calm.

Dead Stars have several New York-area dates coming up. They'll be celebrating the release of Calm Punk with a show on June 4th at Brooklyn's Alphaville that also includes Charlie Bliss, Dances, and Jangula. I'm hoping to catch them at one of their Northside Festival shows -- either at The Gutter on June 12th or at Union Pool as part of the Old Flame Records Showcase on June 14th.



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