|
| |
Low Stars
Low Stars
(Hear Music)
First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2007, Volume 14, #3
Written by John Metzger
The four songwriters who compose Low Stars might not be household names, but
considering their individual successes, it becomes a lot easier to understand
why Starbucks’ Hear Music series has put its considerable muscle behind the
ensemble. As a member of Gods Child, Chris Seefried topped Billboard’s
modern rock chart with Everybody’s 1. Jeff Russo scored a pair of Grammy
nominations with his former band Tonic. Jude’s songs have appeared in episodes
of Alias, Lost, and The OC, and Dave Gibbs’ former band
Gigolo Aunts once had critics raving. In spite of its picture-perfect harmonies
and lustrous production, though, the group’s self-titled debut has little
caloric value, and its lingering effects are akin to the sensations one feels
after eating an entire chocolate cake.
Although there are hints of the ’90s as well as the ’60s lingering within its
work, the bulk of Low Stars’ eponymous endeavor is rooted deeply in the soft
rock of the early 1970s. For what it’s worth, the band, with help from producer
George Drakoulias, does a decent job of capturing the essence of the era, but
its strict adherence to paths that already have been well-traversed does little
to bolster its cause. Like most modern-day affairs, the self-titled collection
is front-loaded with Low Stars’ best tracks, and the ensemble largely mixes and
matches bits and pieces of what once was fodder for AM radio. On Child,
for example, the collective swipes part of the melody from Cat Stevens’ Father and Son and dresses it up with a light, country-rock touch
á la Crosby, Stills & Nash’s Wasted on
the Way. The subsequent Calling All Friends smashes Bob Seger’s Night Moves into America’s Sandman, while adding a healthy dose of
Train. Elsewhere, Need a Friend alludes to Elton John’s Crocodile Rock,
and Can’t Live without Your Love draws from The Beach Boys via The
Beatles’ Because. The problem, however, is that while all of these songs
are pleasant, they never develop their own personality.
Unfortunately, the latter half of the Low Stars’ self-titled debut — which
finds the band dipping into Jackson Browne’s canon for Mexico and
dabbling in Dave Matthews-isms on Love, Love, Love — is worse. Here, even
the borrowed refrains don’t stick, and the unintended effect is that Low Stars’
clichéd, uninspired lyrics are hung out to dry. 
Low Stars is available from
Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2007 The Music Box
|
