Starcrawler - “Devour You” Album Review

Story posted October 15, 2019 in

Starcrawler is just one of many rock bands of the 21st century to grow from the 1970s glam rock revival. With an uncanny resemblance to the Struts (but trade frontman Luke Spiller for a Patti Smith-esque female rock goddess, Arrow de Wilde), Starcrawler oozes of The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath and Def Leppard rolled into one. Their debut album “Strawcrawler” was released just last year, and on Fridaythey dropped their follow up album, “Devour You.”

While harkening back to some of the giants in rock, “Devour You” has little to offer that audiences haven’t already heard.

The band takes no time to get the album started up, setting the tone with the hyper-active track “Lizzy.” The song checks off the box for everything a 1970s rock song would need: killer guitar riffs, lyrics with attitude and a screaming de Wilde. One of the best touches Starcrawler adds to the song is the chorus of children that leads the song in and out.

“Lizzy” descends the listener into the cloud nine of rock anthems. It’s everything a fan begging to get shipped back to the “good old days” of music is longing for. However, they begin to take a slow downward dive as the album progresses.

Truthfully, there’s no dull moment on the entirety of “Devour You.” The drum beat is consistent and catchy and the lyrics are unapologetically rebellious. The greatest part is de Wilde’s raspy and sexy voice, which strings the entire album together and keeps the listener crawling back for more.

There’s a sense of déjà vu, however, with every song that comes next. The audience might find themselves wondering if there’s a Clash song that Starcrawler mimics, or which Green Day song “Toy Teenager” sounds exactly like (it’s “American Idiot” by the way). “Devour You” is reminiscent of all of the great bands that came before Starcrawler, though they have difficulty finding their own sound beneath the years of rock legacy.

“Devour You” is cohesive, as well, though almost a little bit too much so. There aren’t any true stand out songs nor are there any that fall short simply because they all seem to blend together. While Starcrawler is certainly creating a niche sound for themselves, they offer little room for diversity on the album as a whole.

The most charming song on the album is “No More Pennies,” which, coincidentally, sounds almost like a second part of The Rolling Stones’ iconic 1971 track “Dead Flowers.” It’s upbeat and twangy, though a sorrowful send off to a relationship driven away by the singer’s ignorance. It’s a beautiful step back from the overwhelming amount of teenage angst that dominates the album.

In fact, “No More Pennies” may actually be a slight nod to The Rolling Stones. It almost seems like no coincidence that the line “I thought I’d send you some dead roses” was slipped into this track. So, perhaps there’s a possibility that Starcrawler meant to pay homage to some of their favorite rock groups.

Yet, there’s simply no innovation and nothing new that listeners haven’t heard before. De Wilde’s voice is what keeps one motivated to finish “Devour You.” She practically casts a spell on audiences. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to hold it together to make the album entirely compelling. Rather, the band needs something a little bit more creative to generate magic with “Devour You.”

Rating: 6/10

Reviewer’s Favorite Song: “No More Pennies” 

Reviewer’s Least Favorite Song: N/A

 

 

Jade Campos is a sophomore majoring in print/digital journalism. To contact her, email jmc7727@psu.edu.