Drowaton

Starlight Mints

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2006)
• Original Release Date: April 25, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Barsuk
• ASIN: B000EQ46X2
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,679 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Just what do they put in the water in Oklahoma? Like hometown heroes The Flaming Lips, The Starlight Mints continue to push their agenda for sweeping orchestral psych-rock, lyrical mumbo-jumbo, and eye-boggling cover art involving really big balls on their third album. Oddly enough, they sound less like Wayne Coyne and company than early progenitors of the oddball pop genre such as the Beatles and The Kinks. Not a second of Drowaton ("not a word" backwards, although we have no idea why) is sacrificed to silence as every crevice is stuffed with an odd tambourine, flugelhorn, or blast of vintage piano. Ultimately, however, this a guitar record, as best evidenced in more discriminatingly produced cuts such as "Eyes of the Night" and the nearly sincere "What's Inside of Me." --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

Their love of archetypal pop and AM radio has provided, over the course of two acclaimed albums, a rock-solid foundation for a whole bunch of inspired unusualness, all baked to perfection under the hot Oklahoman sun. Their unique brand of instrumentally complex, surrealistically worded pop contains a blend of classic string arrangements, cheeky boyish vocals, catchy melody, and ornate surrealism. You might call it bubblegum psych. Church bells, horns, piano, violin, tambourine, triangle, synths, and sound effects complement the usual suspects of guitar, bass, and drums to paint a broad sonic palate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars eclectic pop, May 16, 2006

By	Kenneth Charpie "Ken" (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Mints have delivered consistently good, catchy, odd, orchestral pop on their last two albums. This album is even better than the previous two. They've been compared to the Kinks, the Flaming Lips... forget those comparisons. The Starlight Mints are unlike any other band I've heard. You need to give them a listen. Their songs are quirky, upbeat, fun, and well-written. The arrangements are smart and catchy. A wide range of instruments and odd-ball sounds are combined with reckless abandon... and it sounds really good. Give them a listen. They'll rock your world. In a weird sort of way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SUPERSTARS IN ANOTHER DIMENSION, November 29, 2006

By	Phillip A. Anderson "Rock'n Phil" (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sounding a lot like Styx covering Pavement Songs with Bowie as the lead singer, these guys have got to be huge in another dimension. Not a bad song on the cd - just well written, well played, INTERESTING music. Probably should have given it a 5 star, probably did in the other dimension. I would definately buy it again if someone took this copy, and thats about the best I can say about any CD.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The great leap forward for Starlight Mints, November 26, 2006

By	Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Starlight Mints is a 5 piece band, bringing mostly quirky popsongs. Their earlier albums, 2000's Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, and 2003's Built on Squares, were uneven affairs, but clearly showing promise. After a long wait, now comes the band's third album.

"Drowaton" (12 tracks, 40 min.) is musically again all over the map, but the big difference is that this time each track feels completely fleshed out, even though many songs are short, in the 2 and 3 minute range. The best tracks are found primarily in the second half of the album, including the instrumental "Rhino Stomp" (with a stomping rythm, as implied by the title), the acoustic "The Killer", the Clash-like "Eyes of the Night", and the closer "Sidewalk", a 60s-like romper with horns. The overall feel to is reminds me of current bands like Spoon and the Greenhornes. Overall, "Drowaton" is a great album, which marks the great leap forward for Starlight Mints.

This album (which is spelled "Not a word" backwards) was released on the excellent label Barsuk Records, which houses other outstanding artists like Mates of State, Smoosh, Aqueduct and John Vanderslice, just to name a few. I haven't had an opportunity to see Starlight Mints in concert yet, but I'm looking forward to them coming to or near Cincinnati sometime soon.