CD of The Week

Starcrawler - Devour You (Rough Trade)

Coming less than two years after their self-titled debut, youthful L.A. rockers Starcrawler continue to make a name for themselves with their brand-new sophomore effort Devour You. Fronted by Arrow de Wilde (daughter of the great rock photographer Autumn de Wilde), the band immediately gained a reputation as a wild (pun intended) live act thanks to de Wilde's energetic stage presence. But on Devour You, they aim to expand their musical palette and define themselves beyond their live show.

Devour You shows the band has more complexity in their sound that just straight-up raw rock tracks. Their current single "Bet My Brains" is a glam stomper while the mid-tempo "No More Pennies" features some surprise country twang. "Home Alone" brings some serious classic rock vibes and major guitar solos, along the lines of Sheer Mag. The short-and-sweet punk rocker "Toy Teenager" is a zooming takedown of the modeling industry and "Tank Top" reaches back to the earliest roots of '50's rock and roll. A litany of broken relationship drama runs throughout Devour You on tracks like "You Dig Yours."

However, there's no touchstone for Devour You quite like Hole. Multiple tracks, including "Born Asleep" and the aforementioned "No More Pennies," are reminiscent of the slicker grunge of Celebrity Skin. "I Don't Need You" and "Rich Taste" would sound right at home on a mid-'90's mixtape.

Taken all together, Devour You shows that Starcrawler is a band unafraid to stretch out in any direction of good old fashioned guitar rock. The foursome brings their can't-miss live show to Boot & Saddle this Saturday, October 26th.

Review by Joey O.