STAR AND DAGGER:
In My Blood: 12”
Occasionally, you hear a band that is really ugly and domineering but somehow sounds like they could be poised for commercial success. I’m talking about the Baronesses and Fucked Ups of our time, bands that wrote songs that stuck in your head and had big production because they had an idea and knew how to pull it off, not because they were actively trying to sell more records. I imagine this will be the case with Star And Dagger, and not because they are easily marketable in terms of their “ex members” credentials, but because they just write really good songs. This 12” is three doomy stoner songs with female vocals that have a heavy focus on both the low end and the melody. The music is more reminiscent of early Sabbath/Jerusalem than more recent doom/stoner rock and everything is so methodic and in place it’s hard to nitpick. The guitar tone is perfect, the song structures are engaging, and the vocals fit the music perfectly. I didn’t really know what to expect from this record and I was pleasantly surprised. –Ian Wise (Last Hurrah)