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Oct 08, 2019 Starcrawler By Dom Gourlay

Rewind the clock back to June 2018 and it’s Sunday morning at Download, one of the world’s biggest rock and heavy metal festivals. Opening the second stage are a band whose singer appears to be bleeding profusely from her mouth and berating members of the audience whilst singing songs about ants in her pants and loving L.A. The band in question are Starcrawler and as introductions go, they don’t come any more confrontational than this.

Indeed, with singer Arrow de Wilde, they have an unnerving focal point whose presence simply demands your attention. Live they’re a spectacle. Brash and unpredictable, yet also one of the most engaging live acts I’ve seen in years.

The problem—if it can be considered a problem as such—is translating the intensity and drama of those live performances onto tape. While Starcrawler’s self-titled debut delivered in many ways, it felt like the sum of its parts. The culmination of three years worth of hard work, its recordings basically covering the entirety of the band’s setlist from their formative years to the present.

Devour You continues their psychedelic glam rock assault, somewhat aided and abetted by esteemed studio wizard Nick Launay’s production. Songs like opener “Lizzy” and “You Dig Yours” bristle with a subversive energy anyone that’s witnessed Starcrawler in the flesh will immediately identify with. Elsewhere, “Hollywood Ending” and “Rich Taste” show de Wilde and her band in a more poignant light, taking their cues from Hole circa Celebrity Skin.

However, the most enticing characteristic of both band and record is undoubtedly Starcrawler’s ability to flirt with then transcend genres with consummate ease. Long may it continue! (www.starcrawlermusic.com)

Author rating: 6.5/10