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spotlight! Star devastates the realm of modern pop love
By Christopher Gilmore
cgilmo10@mscd.edu

Star Devastator (Lovely Rebel Records, 2007)

The portrayal of true love in pop culture is about as believable as the tagline “Inspired by true events” would be on the poster of the last Star Wars film.

The Chicago-based band Star has no illusion about the authenticity of pop love, and absolutely no affiliation with Lucasfilm Ltd. The cross between subtle, electronic beats and highly distorted guitar meets perfectly with the warm and vulnerable vocals. The guitars and lyrics emit a dark aura with an unfamiliar, soothing and attractive voice. This pop-noise act refuses to follow the rules that dominate pop love songs. Song-writing duties fall squarely on vocalist Shannon Roberts, and her songs are a refreshingly honest, and sometimes nihilistic, look at modern love and life.

The heart of the album contains back-to-back musings on people living life while rubbing others the wrong way. “Jailor” is about a beautiful veneer covering ugly emotions. The lyrics tell of the conscious desires to restrain the ones responsible for tainting the flawless image of beauty with vengeful thoughts. The throbbing perversion of Scott Cortez’s guitar indicates the emotion leading to the blind rage of being in the presence of a truly vile person.

The song is directly followed by the musically uplifting, lyrically depressing track “Champion of Love.” The bitterness from a relationship that ended on bad terms drips off the sultry vocals as Roberts sings, “I realized I’d rather die than hear you talk/and if I’d stick around my death would be my own fault.” The consistent imposing drums and driving guitar press against the vocals, playing up the tension and hatred of a former love.

Star has a knack for avoiding the detrimental ideals conveyed in traditional pop love songs. Instead they opt for an authentic look at the raw emotions of a broken heart. Devastator conveys the disappointment of failed desires and unrealistic love. The band’s ironic take on a love song, “Liars in Love,” tells of an all-to-familiar routine of modern dating. It explores the process of avoiding intimate connection only to get caught in the perpetual cycle of sharing pointless petty gossip, giving the illusion we are interesting people.

Star’s Theodore Beck composes subtle beats that create a strange, mood-setting mix for the introspective direction of the album. Some songs rely on simple traditional percussion elements, such as tambourines, cymbals and the standard drum-kit essentials. At other times, the songs weave a cosmic electronic texture that provides a backbone. When the warped guitar drives the direction of a track and threatens to dominate the album, the beats allow the guitar to flourish while retaining the collective focus on the group.

When the realm of science fiction is less fantastic and more believable than the majority of love-based narratives, society needs a champion like Star to bring our heads out of the clouds. Devastator is the album to do that.