Starmarket – Calendar – Review

Starmarket

Calendar (Deep Elm)
by Tim Den

As if their incredible song, “Last Verse” from Emo Diaries Three, didn’t already make me feel like a giggly girl at a Backstreet Boys concert, Calendar, the first American release by these Swedish deities Starmarket, flushed me with so much pre-pubescent excitement that I had to break out the ol’ zit cream and stone-washed jeans. From the first explosion of notes on “Everybody’s Gone,” I knew there was no turning back. Starmarket was gonna take my ass to school. Pounding with thick guitars, perfectly designed arpeggios, mouth-watering melodies, and rhythms resembling a 15-ton steak (think: meaty), each of the twelve tracks on Calendar lives and breathes. Combining these simple characteristics to form something bigger than the sum of its parts, they use the process to capture something magical as well. Example: on “Wither,” the verses are punctuated by short syllables and guitar notes, while the stabbing tempo supplies a haunting backdrop to these elements that ultimately captures a melancholy mood like no other. Absolutely fantastic. And it’s this kind of mixing of elements that gives Starmarket power into inject such emotion to their music: upbeat and energetic, yet loose enough for the song’s components to breathe and exorcise their demons. Who would’ve thought songs so simple in their anatomy could harness such power?

In other moments, such as “You Can’t Come” and “Top Floor,” the band turns down the volume but delivers the same impact. Playing minimal, clean-tone arpeggios, each instrument leaves behind a void only for it to be perfectly filled by another. The result is nothing but warmth… and tons of it. Rich, layered rays of sunshine in the form of melodies, massaging your ears with their tender loins (you know you like the sound of that). And when you really get down to it, you just can’t beat a great fuckin’ melody. And these guys have plenty of those.

Once again, Sweden has kicked our asses with another great band. And once again, Deep Elm delivers a powerful and moving unit. Now all you have to do is prove you’re worth your existence as a human being by enjoying this record.
(PO Box 1965 New York, NY 10156)