April 27, 2006

The Starlight Mints




Honestly, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Really, people—we already knew that Starlight Mints = brilliant. You didn't? Shame on you. Some of us already knew and appreciated Norman, Oklahoma's motley psych-popsters. Some of us knew, in our heart of hearts, that Drowaton (spell it backwards) would be a wonderfully compiled mixture of weird noises, fun instrumental passages, and hook-laden songs that, when combined, would form an album that demands to be listened to over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Come on, people, throw us a curveball!

If we sound cynical, it's because the hype machine that's giving Drowaton and the Starlight Mints the recognition they deserve is about three albums behind. For those who heard their debut album, The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of, their was no way to deny that this was a brilliant band. They haven't made a disappointing record yet. It's not like we don't want the rest of the world to know that The Starlight Mints is a wonderful band—we just want to make sure that you know that they didn't fall out of the sky or that their brilliance is merely the creation of some overpaid publicist's mind. Much like their previous two albums, Drowaton is an effort that should be listened to in whole, as opposed to being dissected on a track-by-track basis. But if you like the poppy elements of "Inside of Me" (a deserved hit) then you're going to love the rest of the album, which is full of moments that are sometimes mellow, sometimes rockin', sometimes weird, but always fun!

Listen To: "Inside of Me"

And be sure and catch the band live! They're out on tour.

04.27.06 - Oklahoma City, OK - Bricktown Ballroom
05.02.06 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
05.03.06 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified
05.04.06 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
05.07.06 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
05.09.06 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
05.11.06 - Portland, OR - Dante's
05.12.06 - Seattle, WA - Neumo's
05.13.06 - Vancouve, Canada - Richard's on Richards
05.15.06 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
05.16.06 - Provo, UT - Club Velour
05.18.06 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
05.20.06 - Kansas City, KS - Record Bar
05.22.06 - Minneapolis, MN - Ascot Room
05.23.06 - Milwaukee, WI - Rave
05.24.06 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean
05.26.06 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom!
06.01.06 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live Studio
06.02.06 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
06.03.06 - Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
06.04.06 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbit's
06.06.06 - Birmingham, AL - Nick
06.07.06 - Nashville, TN - Exit In
06.08.06 - Atlanta, GA - Smith's Old Bar
06.10.06 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
06.11.06 - Baltimore, MD - Fletchers
06.12.06 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
06.13.06 - Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar
06.14.06 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East
06.16.06 - Detroit, MI - Shelter

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