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What? Nobody interested? How about this preview from Stranger 2003.

STARLIGHT MINTS, POST STARDOM DEPRESSION, ROBO-SEXUALS
(Graceland, late) It seems like most critics who write about Starlight Mints are so busy doing band math that they mistake the band's originality for mere ingenuity. It's hard to miss the Mints' influences--the Kinks, early-middle Bowie, XTC, the Beatles, et al.--but simply comparing Starlight Mints to their forebears misses the mark. Many acts set out simply to ape the old masters, often going so far as to record with antique equipment to replicate the sounds of the past. Starlight Mints are having none of that. Despite their classical leanings (check out the "All Day and All of the Night" quote on "Jack in the Squares"), the Mints never sound retro. Their amazing new album Built on Squares, like their amazing debut, The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of, is a perfectly modern construction, built from pieces left floating in the sea of music history. "Goldstar" begins with a trippy, late-Beatles-esque guitar riff but quickly shifts into a soft electronic groove. Drugged violins maneuver around synth blips. Vocal harmonies swirl around sensible nonsense lyrics full of surreal whimsy ("She was kooky like some girl from Mars"). You could say all this about a lot of contemporary bands--but when the chorus kicks in, it's clear that we're in the hands of masters. And it's only the third-best song on the record. SEAN NELSON

Post-Stardom Depression were a pleasant/aggressive surprise that evening many moons ago. Maybe Bishop Allen and Tom will make for a good time tonight.

Posted by Experience Music | November 12, 2006 3:13 PM
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I love love love this band! All three of their albums are amazing and I just do not understand why people don't go more crazy for these guys.

I saw them tonight at the Chop Suey and their live show completely lives up to what I expected from the album. I can't wait until they come back through Seattle again.

Posted by Patrick | November 13, 2006 2:29 AM

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