STAR - Devastator

STAR is a project from Scott Cortez that has been in the works for awhile now. I remember reading about the band and getting really excited for any eventual releases, because rarely does anything from Scott Cortez (Astrobrite, Loveliescrushing) let me down. STAR’s first full-length Devastator doesn’t deviate from this trend at all and delivers in a big way. The band, which is made up of Shannon Roberts (vocals), Scott Cortez (guitars), and Theodore Beck (drums), has actually already recorded a couple albums to which Devastator is the first to be released. Regardless, if the second hunk of material is anything like Devastator then it can’t come out soon enough for me.

However, more focus on Devastator and less on the group’s future right now. What we have here is some extremely well done fuzzed out shoegaze that is helped along with some very enchanting vocals from singer Shannon Roberts. The songs on Devastator are as if you took the hazy abrasiveness of The Jesus and Mary Chain and then molded that into short and incredibly catchy pop songs. It’s a combination that will suck you in from the start. The vocals from Roberts rival that of some of the best female fronted shoegaze groups from the early 90’s. They are every bit as important to STAR’s success as Cortez’s massive feedback drenched guitar melodies.

Devastator is such a consistently good album, there are no songs on it that fall flat or fail to deliver. STAR’s debut is just about everything anyone could have hoped for and maybe even a bit more than that.

STAR – Jailor [MP3]
STAR – Liars in Love [MP3]

Be sure to pick this up if you dig the tunes above. It can be had over at the bands website. Also, for more songs and some more info on STAR, I recommend checking out the bands MySpace. Enjoy!