Starky - Saturday Night, Sunday Morning

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 24 / 10 / 2004

Label: Laughing Outlaw
Format: CDS

intro

Impressive three song debut EP from young Australian four piece, Starky, who take authentic inspiration from 70's melodic punk

We are a bit behind with reviewing this 3 track EP from Australian four piece, Starky, as the lead song ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’ is taken from their debut album ‘Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre’ which by the time you get to read this is probably in the shops or if not in a truck somewhere waiting to be unloaded. The reason some bands from the punk era lasted the distance and signed to major labels while others faded out before lunch time was due to one simple fact. Consider any song by (and let’s take some of the most well known and successful bands as an example) the Clash, the Jam, the Undertones and the one thing they all had besides that punk attitude (yeah I know the Jam are not considered punk as such but there were part of the movement and an important part of those times) was that their songs actually had a melody. Strange as it might seem now it wasn’t all loud guitars, thrashing drums and badly played bass parts. There were even harmonies on Clash and Jam songs. And that’s what made them so appealing. Starky have their roots, judging by these three songs, planted firmly in that melodic punk sound. Sadly an increasing number of young bands these days seem to think that giving band members stupid names (it was funny nearly 30 years ago guys, but not now; come to that Screaming Lord Sutch beat them to it over 40 years ago) and declaring their love of all things punk will be their passport to success and huge record sales. Well, while the more gullible might be taken in at the beginning I doubt if any of those bands will have the longevity they crave. And it’s all down to lack of tunes. If you’re going to take the energy and excitement of the punk era and try to make a career out of it then Starky have got it just about right. ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’ is a perfect guitar pop song with the energy and melodic edge of the greatest punk era songs. It’s a band composition which bodes well for the album and is produced by Rob Younger (Radio Birdman) and co produced and mixed by Wayne Connolly (You Am I). It blasts out of the speakers and demands attention from the very first seconds. It’s as catchy as a winter cold and it actually sounds like these guys mean it. They’re into this music and it shows unlike a lot of their contemporaries and I’ll put money on them not having to all wear the same clothes to get noticed when they are a few albums down the line. The other two songs are recorded live for Triple J’s ‘Live At The Wireless’ and they sound so tight from such a young band that I would never have guessed they are live recordings. One of the songs, a cover of ‘Show A Sign Of Life’ originally recorded by American band the High Strung is particularly good. With a chorus where the lyrics are ever so slightly risqué the song also manages to raise a smile. The future looks good for Starky using this 3 tracker as a starting point. Songwriter Beau Cassidy has extremely strong vocals and is no slouch on the guitar. Along with David Simons also on guitar and vocals, Saul Foster on drums and Nick Neal handling the bass duties they make a very strong case for seeking out their debut album if guitar led pop with a bite and some of that old punk attitude appeals to you.

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