Dar Stellabotta's carved out an interesting niche for herself, fashioning modern-day blues on homemade cigar-box guitars. I featured her music last fall and am more than happy to remind you to take a gander at her album Lo-Fi Rejection. Stellabotta uses her instrument to great effect, making a wall of distorted sound for her winsome singing and an anguished, buzzy solo to complement her despondent lyrics. Stellabotta's got a ton of attitude to work with and I look forward to the day when a full backing band can support her while she lets it absolutely rip. - Adobe and Teardrops

Dar Stellabotta shares her coming out journey and struggle in her new EP Lo-Fi Rejection. Stellabotta wrote all of the songs and plays all of the instruments on the EP (cigar box guitar, distortion, slide, and kick drum). "Rock in My Shoe" is a call for to women throw off the contraptions of beauty and societal standards. "Oh Well" and "Lo-Fi Rejection" speaks to the people who walk away when they cannot deal with a new truth or in this case homosexuality. The slide guitar solo in this song is a nice highlight. "Tractor" and "Marry A Rich Dude" lament the need to work hard which we can all relate to, but Stellabotta does it tongue in cheek. My favorite song on the EP is "The Stripper from West Virginia" probably because I have never heard someone's reality sang with such verve and grit. It is a toe tapper, the lyrics had me smiling, and I could see the reality of the stripper's life as I was jamming - that is talent. Lo-Fi Rejection is being released on green translucent vinyl around March 20, 2019. - Phoebe's Rainbow World

Release date March 20/19 (Bandcamp)

I remember being repulsed by Neil Young's vocals the first time I heard him. To me they sounded like out of tune warblings from an untrained fella who had no right to be stepping up to a mic. However, something kept drawing me back to his music, and lo and behold, I came to love his vocal embellishments, warts and all. What once was odd became something I enthusiastically embraced.

I bring this up now because I had a similar reaction to Dar Stellabotta's voice. On initial listen I thought, wow - too bad about those vocals. But, just like the Young experience, the music kept drawing me back for more listens and the vocals began to grow on me, to the point where it sounds perfectly suitable and charming now.


Musically, Stellabotta runs a one-woman show, strumming on a cigar box guitar while thumping along on a kick-drum. Strong wiffs of bootleg booze and campfire come off this release, a downtrodden blues rumble with nine tales of rejection. This is low down, bottom-of-the-barrel blues that sounds like authentic ramblings of a woman who doesn't seem to be enjoying life.

While on paper this may sound like a self-inflicted slice-to-the-throat listening experience (especially for someone who almost exclusively listens to aggressive music), in actuality it is a strangely captivating experience. After visiting an 'Herb Lady', hearing about a 'Stripper From WV' and taking in a 'Marry A Rich Dude' life plan, you'll find yourself hypnotically stomping your foot along with the rumbling slices of the tough life.
[8] - The Mighty Decibel