Starless

Shiner | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2000)
• Original Release Date: April 18, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Owned & Operated
• ASIN: B00004SDEH
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,336 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite album, January 19, 2004

By 

T. Brown (Fayetteville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starless (Audio CD)

It's been a couple of years since this album came out, and I need to add my two cents about it.

I love it.

It easily surpasses The Egg in terms of sheer rock-ness. It owes a great debt to King Crimson (both 70s and 80s), although I'm fairly certain Allan Epley isn't a Crimson fan. The musicians take on heady musical concepts (metric modulation, atonal vocal harmonies, unorthodox song structures) and somehow blend them with a AC/DC vibe that harkens to the very best of 70s prog rock, but without sounding retro at all.

The musicians themselves are oustanding. Epley is a great vocal stylist; no one sings like he does. Always understated, his calm vocals seem to accentuate the band's fury. Jason Gerkin is truly a god of drumming who'd only been with the band for a couple of weeks when the album was recorded. He tackles concepts normally reserved for jazz drummers with ease, but without losing sight of his primary goal - to rock. Josn Newton (guitar) and Paul Malinowski (bass and b/u vocals) go to great lengths to broaden the dynamic range of the songs and they create the huge difference between the earlier albums and this one.

Whereas "The Egg" loses steam, this album builds to its monumental closer "Too Much of Not Enough." Like "Dear God" on XTCs Skylarking, "TMoNE" is the climax of the album, and the remainder of the album is just a cooling off period for the listener.

REMEMBER: This album is rock, but it is subtle and requires focus on the listeners part. If you like easily digestible pulp that sells millions, look elsewhere. This is music for serious music lovers and musicians; part time alterna-kids need not apply.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eggs and Stars, March 1, 2003

By 

Ayodele Jegede (Hamilton, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starless (Audio CD)

If "The Egg" could be seen as a foray into differential equations punctured by severely angular guitars and some of the most calculating drumming you'll (quite literally) ever hear, "Starless" abstains from being too mathematically inclined and places most of the force in the emotional content. It's for this reason that "Starless" is more accessible than its [equally good] follow-up. On this album numerous elements of math rock, indie, alt-rock, and even progressive arise, making each song a pleasurable listen.

Songs like 'Giant's Chair,' 'Unglued,' 'Lazy Eye,' and 'Semper Fi' swirl with a vitriolic but controlled intent, giving the entire album a subtle and wonderful dark lull. Something must especially be said of the drumming, which is absolutely fantastic. It's probably the most carefully haphazard I've heard in a while. Whereas drummers like Jimmy Chamberlain and Dave Grohl were known for EITHER power OR precision, Jason Gerken's systematic and powerfull throes is Einstein if he decided to play drums as an aside to Physics. But this isn't to relegate the other members to the foreground at all since Malinowski (bass), Josh Newton (guitar), and Allen Epley (lead singer), with his dark cadence and lyrics, are necessary parts to Shiner. Listen to this album and you'll be doing your calculus with ease and gusto.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars for Starless, February 27, 2001

By 

"weezrockmusic" (P-town, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starless (Audio CD)

First lets just get this out of the way. Jason Gerken is a monster on drums. Absolutly one of my favorites. Don't get me wrong, the drummer on previous albums (Splay, Lula Divinia) Tim Dow, is also a great drummer, but I think less musical, and too mathmatical. Gerken is unpredictable and seems to never do anything the same way twice. He drums on the edge, and thats where great music comes from. Tim Dow is reliable, almost to a fault, if that makes sence. I spend so much time on the drummers because I am one so I hope I know a little about it. Other than that, this album is more musical than the previous two and just simply rocks. One great thing about this band is although they have a similar sound to some bands, they make every song on this, and all other albums there own. Buy the cd, its good.