Starcrawler: CD

Records don’t get as rock n roll fun as Starcrawler’s self-titled debut, it’s Joan Jett and the Ramones immediate punk with some added hair metal razzle dazzle with some added Stooges muck.

Starcrawler are a Los Angeles rock band who formed in 2015 when 18-year-old lead vocalist Arrow de Wilde first met guitarist Henri Cash at their Echo Park high school. Shortly thereafter they were joined by the rhythm section of Austin Smith (drums) and Tim Franco (bass). The foursome play with squalling riffs and thundering beats and their incendiary live shows, fronted by de Wilde’s otherworldly magnetism, are truly captivating. Gigwise (UK) recently stated that “Starcrawler are simply the most exciting - and best - band Rough Trade have signed in years.”

Recorded by Ryan Adams on analogue tape at his Pax-Am studio, the 10 songs on the album prove that yes, they ARE making rock and roll exciting again. Ryan has been tweeting up a storm about them saying things like “This starcrawler record is gonna peel the paint off your brain!” and “Starcrawler are so fucking insanely good. Soon they will rule this galaxy.”

After signing to Rough Trade earlier this year, they quickly released their debut single ‘Ants’, which caught the ear of Elton John who played the track on his Beats 1 radio show. Soon after, they were on the cover of LA Weekly - their hometown paper. The headline was “With Fake Blood And Frenetic Songs, Starcrawler Make Rock Feel Dangerous Again.” In the article, Arrow describes that “bands are boring nowadays” and that “there’s no mystery.” That helps explain a little bit of why their shows have become the stuff of legend.

The band also played LA’s CalJam Festival recently, which is curated by Dave Grohl (Starcrawler was the first band he reached out to and he raved about them the next day on KROQ.) Gerard Way is also a fan, describing them as a “mix of 70’s theatricality and Stooges electricity.”