The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of [Enhanced, Extra tracks]

Starlight Mints | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 22, 2000)
• Original Release Date: August 22, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Extra tracks
• Label: Seethru Broadcasting
• ASIN: B00004WFJC
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,095 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Submarine #3

2. The Bandit

3. Sir Prize

4. Blinded by You

5. Valerie Flames

6. Sugar Blaster

7. Cracker Jack

8. Matador

9. The Twilight Showdown

10. Margarita

11. Pulling Out My Hair

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buena vista..., April 20, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of (Audio CD)

There must be something in the water in Oklahoma. Indie-pop band Starlight Mints is often compared to their fellow Oklahomans the Flaming Lips, with the same sort of off-kilter vocals and deliciously strange lyrics. They're not quite up to the Lips' level, but they are wonderful at solid psychedelic pop.

A smooth violin solo builds up to solid percussion blast and a sort of twangy blast... and that's just "Submarine #3," the likably weird opener of the album. Following it is a stream of string/acoustic pop ("Sir Prize," "Valerie Flames"), reverb rock ("Sugar Blaster") and surreal ballads ("Cracker Jack").

The Mints are plenty of fun, with their strange pop tunes and nonsensical lyrics. At times it sounds like the Mints were shooting for a more exotic sound than they got, and that their music couldn't quite catch up with their ambitions. Regardless, it's hard to find indie pop that is much more likable and innocent than this. They sort of sparkle.

The sound of the Starlight Mints is pretty textured, with acoustic guitars, flutes, trumpets, drums and plenty of very creatively-used violins. Somehow all these are woven together, giving a feeling of orchestral richness rather than clutter. And a few of the sounds don't sound like anything at all: for example, a ringing, reverberating twang on "Submarine #3" that defies classification.

Allan Vest's vocals are slightly thin and yowling, in the tradition of Jeff Mangum and Wayne Coyne. And the songwriting is perhaps the best part. "I tried to fly you back to the sun/Then you were attacked by giant centipedes" is only one of the songs, with their descriptions of self-beheading, bloody chandeliers, shaking hands with cats in mirrors, fish queens and "Margarita the octopus."

Fun psychedelic pop crops up in the oddest places. And judging from the Starlight Mints' "Dream That Stuff Is Made Of," Oklahoma was one of those places. Trippy, funky and immensely weird.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scrumptious, absolutely scrumptious!, September 3, 2000

By 

A. CLARK (Cedar Rapids, IA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of (Audio CD)

Mmmm, best $15 I've spent in a long time! I heard the third song on the album, "Sir Prize," one night on a local radio station during their weekly Indie Artists' Night, or whatever it's called. It sounded so wackily, funkily, crazily cool, I had to get the cd. And I'm so glad I did, I can't stop listening to it! It's hard to compare them to anybody, they're so unique-sounding. But, depending on the song, I hear shades of the Pixies (like the above reviewer said), Rasputina (prob. just b/c both bands use cellos), a bit of They Might Be Giants... but that's just the very tip of the iceberg. I love those bands whose music just says, "You wanna pigeonhole us?? Yeah, well, good luck!" FYI, this is one of those cds where listening to the online samples actually gives a pretty good idea of the sound of the songs. If you like eccentric, different music, this cd is for you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My current favorite CD, October 27, 2003

By 

Daniel Simpson (Salt Lake City, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of (Audio CD)

I picked up this CD on a random Amazon recommendation, and it quickly grew to be my favorite CD. Every time I take it out of my CD player, it finds its way back in. These guys sound so great, every song on here is a winner. In particular, I enjoyed Sir Prize, Crackerjack and Margarita.

The Starlight Mints may take some getting used to, after all, not every rock band has a violin in it, or deliberately plays discordant melodies, but I believe they are worth it.