Customer Reviews

Starless

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I saw Shiner in a small club in Williamsburg Brooklyn. I hadn't heard of them, but my friend told me they had a kind of Failure think going on( not really, unless you count that Allen-the singer sings in a similar register as Ken Andrews). Beautifully crafted songs, not too straight up rock, but not too prog, to the point where they're not accessable. I listen to this album all the time. There is no question that anyone who buys it will absolutely consider it a sound investment. BUY THIS RECORD!!!!!!

Like a lot of Shiner fans, their second album Lula Divinia blew me away and was easily one of the best releases of that year (1998 I believe). When I first picked up Starless, I wasn't too impressed, but after a few listens, I'm there. Songwriting is still incredible, but the production is a little shady -- where is the trademark 'thicker-than-peanut-butter' Shiner sound? The loss of Dow on the drums was a big one for Shiner, and though they haven't fallen apart without him, he'll be missed.

Anyway, this album shows a pretty clear artistic progression from Lula Divinia (which was light-years further along than the first album, Splay, and forget about comparing this to early -- though still very good -- records like the Cowboy/Floodwater 7").

Standout tracks are Giant's Chair (an obvious nod to the incredible midwest indie band by the same name, check their stuff out), Kevin Is Gone, and Semper Fi. All in all, this CD is more evenly good rather than having only one or two incredible tracks with a bit of filler (Christ Sized Shoes and Cake being the incredible songs on Lula Divinia).

The only shame is that it took so long for this record to come out... thank god for Owned & Operated Records; they saved this record. Anybody know why this wasn't released on Desoto? I wonder what happened there.

... and then played it for a month straight. Simply stated, if you like songs with dynamics then you'll love this. Buy it anyway... if you're reading this you're looking for adventure!

Shiner is a part of the newest breed of bands who channel the sickening virtuosic excess and ego of pre-Sex Pistols seventies rock and post-Van Halen eighties rock into carefully crafted songs that swing like sledge hammers and sing like mute sparrows. If our friend Mr. Cobain could've gotten a listen to Starless, he might not have shot himself (at least not in the head.)

Starless finds Shiner taking full advantage of the pop colorations at which Lula Divinia had so deliciously hinted. With a slight de-emphasis on the grunge calculus and a greater emphasis on melody and concision, Shiner's third album stands among the finest rock records of our infant century. There is enough musical contortionism to impress nearly any "Berklee School of" music snob, and enough solid songwriting and American power chord bashing to satisfy every Nirvana fan still willing to leave the house in a Linkin Park/Papa Roach world. Starless is a record by Neil Young after his receiving a PhD. in number theory and a dangerously potent shot of horse-derived androgens.

no, it's not lula. that would be a waste of time. shiner moves ahead, the songs are more .... songy. the drums go with the music instead of against it. allen sings better. i'm VERY impressed. i like all three records. proboably my favorite record of the year. unless a jehu record comes out.

This is easily the best release from the Kansas City area this year. A band with influences ranging from Jawbox to punk crossover (what the heck does that mean?) to --- (fill in the blank), Shiner has evolved into a songwriting machine that is both easily accessible and potent at the same time. Songs range from the driving punk of "Kevin Is Gone" to the extremely sublime slownik (I'm making these adjectives up as I go along) "The Arrangement." Tim Dow is gone, but the heavy foot of former Molly McGuire drummer Jason Gerken puts this music on a keel that is, again, slightly more accessible than "Lula Divinia." It's a CD that is more hummable, more chummy, more of a full-meal-type digestible than previous releases. Buy it. Eat it. Enjoy it in whatever way you have to. It's that good.

As fans of shiner already know, Shiner churns out some of these best rock out there, and Starless is quite a feat. Anyone who is a fan of complex, hard, and melodic rock will dig this album. The guitars soar and rip, the stunning bass churns, and the drums beyond fantastic. Alan Epley's voice has matured into it's own; it's capable of soaring but always maintains that cigarrette-burnt edge that we love. BUY THIS ALBUM! It's that simple. And see them live; they will get your rocks off and redefine your idea of a live show. (Buncha' nice blokes, as well!) Peace..Keep Shinin', Shiner!