Album Review: Stars Like Ours - "Stars Like Ours"

 

Another offering from the always reliable Rum Bar records stable, Stars Like Ours are a trio from the label's home town of Boston who are, as you'd expect, a pop-punk group but definitely leaning towards the more muscular end of the genre.

Over the nine tracks and 30-odd minute here, they serve up an enjoyable offering which sounds like one part Celebrity Skin era Hole and one part 1977 era Ash, all chugging guitars, purred angst and with enough skyscraping choruses and soaring riffs to stand out from the crowd. While lead singer Michelle's vocals are pure Courtney style snarl, it's the more melodic approach that Stars Like Ours take to things which helps them stand out with the likes of the anthemic Radio, the stratospheric All Too Often and the chugging Lines being particular standouts which you could just imagine Tim Wheeler penning back in the day while Love In A Parking Lot is pure simmering tension. Throughout the trio, completed by guitarist Kristin and drummer Eric, keep things suitably tight to ensure that the tunes grab you right from the off and don't let go. 

It's always good to come across a new band offering something a bit different from the usual stuff that lands in the Nite Songs inbox and, while they're treading fairly familiar ground, Stars Like Ours deserve a lot of credit for taking a tried and tested formula and doing something with it that's different from a lot of their peers. Any Donnas, Wildhearts or Mysterines fans looking for a new band to get behind could do a lot worse than give this lot a try.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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