Devour You

爆発的で荒削りなロックンロールで旋風を巻き起こす 我らが、スタークローラー!!パワフルでゴージャスな新作ここに完成!

ミュージシャンと写真家の間に生まれたカリスマ・ヴォーカリスト、アロウ・デ・ワイルドが高校時代にギタリストのヘンリー・キャッシュと出会い、オースティン・スミス(ドラム)とティム・フランコ(ベース)が加わって2015年にロサンゼルスで結成されたスタークローラー。

2018年のデビュー・アルバム『Starcrawler』を引っ提げて行われた初のジャパン・ツアーでは東名阪3公演全てをソールド・アウトさせ、同年フジロック・フェスティバルへも出演を果たし世界中はもちろん、ここ日本でも大旋風を巻き起こした我らが、スタークローラーが2枚目となる最新作『Devour You』をリリース!

制御不能の攻撃的なライブパフォーマンスを見事にアルバムへと落とし込み凝縮させた最新作は、プロデューサーにニック・ローネイ(ニック・ケイヴ・アンド・ザ・バッド・シーズ、ヤー・ヤー・ヤーズ)を迎え、荒々しさやエネルギッシュさはそのままに、前作では見られなかった優雅な一面が垣間見える音作りへと進化を遂げている。

精巧で緻密かつハードに打ち付ける音のバリエーションを持つ本作は、生々しい感受性と抑圧しようのない力の両方を発する、選りすぐりの楽曲を収録したロックンロールの興奮、ライブで流された血と汗、そして、アザになった膝や骨折した指、その全ての思いが詰まった作品へと完成!

With very rare exceptions, no one has gone very far in rock & roll by convincing people they were nice and well-behaved, and Starcrawler know their rock history well enough to know its in their best interest to seem like a threat to public decency. On their self-titled 2018 debut album, Starcrawler went out of their way to seem violent and lascivious, like a raunchy punk- and glam-infused fever dream co-authored by Kim Fowley and Larry Clark, which worked either because or in spite of most of the band being still in their teens when they cut it. On their second long-player, 2019s Devour You, theyve eased back on the lyrical decadence just a bit (no songs about oral sex this time, though there is one about masturbation) but have pumped up the guitars and drums, and thanks to producer and engineer Nick Launay, theyve managed to sound glossier and dirtier at the same time. Clearly obsessed with the 70s, from the Stones/Faces raunch of No More Pennies to the Kiss-leaning growl of Hollywood Ending, Starcrawler blend the snot of pop punk, the swagger of glam rock, and the eager darkness of vintage metal with the arrogantly blank vocal sneer of Arrow de Wilde, who sounds like the love child of Cherie Currie and Aubrey Plaza. That said, if de Wilde often sounds like she hates you (or someone else nearby) despite the fact she doesnt actually care, the band sound tougher and more locked in on their second effort. Henri Cashs guitar has gained some welcome muscle and flexibility, barking with a new degree of authority, while bassist Tim Franco and drummer Austin Smith are tight enough to hold these songs together and loose enough to put both groove and attitude behind the music. In terms of their persona, Starcrawler seem less like they want to lead you astray and more like theyre acting out in hopes of getting their parents attention, which isnt always good for these songs. But the music on Devour You is just raw and sweaty enough to conjure up some forgotten after-school special about falling in with the wrong crowd, and if that isnt hitting a bulls-eye for them, its at least somewhere on the target. ~ Mark Deming