Starlight Girls

The vibrant debut album by Brooklyn quintet Starlight Girls will be released on 15 January, 2016, and its blend of classic pop, disco, and modern synthpop is so ebullient it’ll be hard to ignore. This band is a delight, and if you’re new to their music then the new video for the track “Fancy” will be a perfect introduction.

We asked singer/songwriter/keyboardist Christina B about the idea behind the video, to which she said succinctly and hilariously, “We set out to make a video similar to the one for ‘We Built This City’ by Jefferson Starship, but less shitty.”

Mission accomplished, I’d say. - Pop Matters

"Starlight Girls is a project which revolves around six people, each daring to pursue something outside the norm. Indie rock thrills with a gothic swathe..." - Clash

Summer is the time for upbeat electro-pop, am I right? It’s the sound for sweaty late-night dance parties as well as the perfect fit grooving away at your desk with headphones on and too much iced coffee in your belly. Brooklyn band Starlight Girls bring a welcome addition to this genre with their first full-length album, Fantasm, which they’re self-releasing October 13. The band’s unique poppy sound mixes ethereal vocals over upbeat, driving rhythms that have an almost-disco sensibility.

Today we’re debuting “Intrigue,” the first single off the upcoming album. Give it a listen below. - Bitch Media

"...radiates both endless sex appeal and an odd sense of empowerment..." - Consequence of Sound

Maybe it’s the smell of candycorn in the air, but October’s pre-Halloween excitement makes bands with spooky, Munsters-theme song-style organ sounds go down a lot smoother. Take Starlight Girls for example. The band had a 7” with Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart. Now, the Brooklynites are prepping a new album for 2014 and "Inhibitionist" is an early taste.

"Inhibitionist" has a real retro feel, but retro to what exactly? The band’s press release says they draw influence from the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. Well that narrows it down. Listen for yourself and determine what decade you think it sounds like. Or what TV sitcom about a strange monster family for that matter. - VICE/Noisey

"Rock My World Events" by Starlight Girls is this week's Track of the Week, watch the video below and then download the song FOR FREE here: http://bit.ly/RubberTracksMusic - Converse

Lo-fi psychedelia swirls through this new Starlight Girls video for “Wasteland.” The band recently underwent a dramatic change of pace with “7×3,” and they return to familiar ground with the visuals for this track, which we first heard a couple of years ago. There’s a playfulness about this one, but it also feels a little spooky, like the kind of song a gang of ghosts might play if gangs of ghosts made indie music. Perfect for your next cemetery party. - Pigeons and Planes

What we’ve heard from Starlight Girls up until now has been one thing. This is, no doubt about it, a different thing.

With production from Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, “7×3? takes on a sinister tone that unfolds without the sweet, retro-styled pop approach of the Brooklyn band’s previous work. “Flutterby” was a gem, but Starlight Girls just might be onto something with this darker, more aggressive new direction.

“7×3? drops as part of a 7? single coming this summer. - Pigeons and Planes

With the video for Starlight Girls’ noise-pop track “7×3,” we learn that the best way to prep for battle is to take a big bite out of a tomato. Dressed in matching throwback dresses and plastic pearls, two girls take to a Brooklyn roof to sword fight while the Xiu Xiu-produced track plays. I won’t tell you how it ends, but my money was on the girl with the red tomato. Gotta get that lycopene from red fruits and vegetables, guys. Check out the Avery McCarthy-directed video below. - Stereogum

Brooklyn's Starlight Girls put out a five-song, self-titled EP of noirish, '60s-steeped indie pop last year, and their next release should be even better suited to the nighttime hours. This summer they're set to issue a new 7-inch single, produced by Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart and pressed as a limited-edition picture disc featuring glow-in-the-dark images of constellations. One of the two songs on the 7-inch will be "7x3," which sees Starlight Girls moving deeper into dubwise atmospheres, with smoky vocals that hint toward '90s trip-hop. Peaking Lights' psychedelic grooves and TEEN's fluttery retro-pop also come to mind as reference points for a record that will be undeniably luminous. - SPIN

There’s an awful lot to recommend the recently released five-song EP from Starlight Girls, but we particularly like the way it coolly nods to the girl group sound that’s been so popular in recent years and then quickly and unquestionably shows how much more it has to offer. It sounds at times like the soundtrack to a hesitant 60s dance party, and at others like a perfectly elegant and stylish combination of Belle and Sebastian and some of the more playful and touristy moments in Yo La Tengo’s catalog. Lead vocalist-keyboardist Christina B. lends the songs a pronounced easiness that in turn provides the perfect setting for theatrical touches like flute, surf guitar and organ.

Favorite NYC venue?
13 Thames.

What New York band from the past has had the biggest influence on your sound?
Our guitarist, Shaw, is at a silent meditation retreat, so we can’t argue about it. But probably Talking Heads.

Favorite song about NYC?
“Native New Yorker” by Odyssey.

On tour for a month, what album would get the most play in the van?
We were actually just on tour for three months. Due to raging generational A.D.D., we listened to shuffle the whole time.

Ideal four-band bill (realistic):
ESG, TGSM, Ursula Starship and us.

Ideal four-band bill (dream):
The Monks, Eduard Khil, Walabama and us.

If you had to relocate to another city, where would you go?
We’ve talked about this a lot. Either San Francisco, New Orleans or Berlin. But all our baggage is here. - L Magazine

Starlight Girls
‘The Hunch’

Atavistic poppers Starlight Girls are rapidly becoming one of our favourite new bands. Following in the footsteps of the wonderful ‘Flutterby and ‘Gossip’, which we featured here back in July, ‘The Hunch’ once again finds the four-piece taking their ’60s influences and riffing cleverly off them to create a sound that’s entirely their own. The insistent bassline and inspired percussion get your feet moving, but all ears here are on the smart, assured and thoroughly brilliant vocals. - Wears The Trousers Magazine

Starlight Girls are a delight. The four-piece band cranks out jams that include some gloom, some 80's crusin’ rhythm, and even the occasional flute solo. These seemingly unrelated pieces come together quite well for the band. Originally from Brooklyn, they are currently heading west on a nationwide tour. Here are my two favorite tracks off their BandCamp and a brief interview with the band.
Review

“Gossip”
The song starts with an organ piece straight outta the ballpark, before it goes straight into a groovy funk 80's costume party groove. To be honest it reminded me of that Werewolf Bar Mitzvah song from 30 Rock, but that’s really a good thing. There isn’t enough of this out there. Wispy atmospheric vocals and the snappy guitar on the offbeat make this quite the toe tapper. This is descriptive music. Within seconds you’ll be thinking of Scooby Doo, or costume parties, or Studio 54, or acid, or anything strange or freaky you can think of. But at the same time. It’s cute.

“The Hunch”
The spookiness continues. A funky break beat and some stuttering guitar accompany the piano on this one in addition to the usual airy spooky vocals. It slowly sort of meanders until finally, boom! The cymbals crash and the guitar drives and the piano booms.

Interview

How did you form?

We formed about a year ago. Shaw and Karys went to elementary school together and reconnected in New York when they were older. I met Shaw while I was looking for people to work with randomly. Tyson—our bassist—we just started working with a few months ago.

Did you write collectively or individually?

Well, I had a solo project, Christina B, for a while and then I met Shaw and Karys and we started working together. It was surprising and it seemed pretty organic. It’s been my material so far, but we’ve started collaborating and working on material together too.

How do you feel about touring?

It’s an intense experience. Every tour is different. We have been on tour six days so far. This is our second tour and it’s very different than the first one. I think you just have to feel it out. It’s hard to say what this tour is like or is going to be like. We have had some interesting experiences so far, we had a lot of fun on New Years.

Do DIY ethics have a role in your music?

Everybody is DIY in the beginning. It’s all been fairly collaborative. We work with people we are friends with usually. Shaw puts on shows at his place and has a DIY scene going there. Those are the funnest places for us to play, I think. Those are the people that are most receptive and fun to talk to about music.

Are you working on a full album?

Yes. Definitely. It’s looking like April. After that we are working on an A-side-B-side with Xiu Xiu, Jamie Stewart. Then hopefully we will be releasing the LP sometime soon.

Where did the name come from?

It’s kind of a cheesy pop culture reference. It’s from the show Jem. It just popped into my head one time and I knew it was perfect. I think we watched too much Jem. - RadioUTD

Each week we’ll highlight a different song by a Bushwick band or artist we like. If you would like to have your band’s song considered, you can submit an MP3 here.

Starlight Girls‘ latest single is a tale of heartache and woe told with stylish melancholia. The song fits somewhere between blues and cabaret, encouraged by the downtempo beat, sultry vocals, and piano and flute turns that add a theatrical element. The flute solo in the interlude also makes an effective use of the instruement in a textural contrast again the darker timbres of the song without shading into Jethro Tull territory.

You can download “Flutterby” as well their other single, “Gossip,” for free via Bandcamp. Be sure to take in their Chien Andalou inspired cover art as well. - Bushwick News

If Vincent Price and Andy Warhol threw a party together, Starlight Girls would be the appropriate band for the occasion.

The trip-back-in-time, Brooklyn-based band could easily be imagined playing their psychedelic, sinister and arty music just a few miles south at Warhol’s Factory on All Hallow’s Eve.

Modern rockers steeped in the sounds of the past, Starlight Girls are breaking on to the scene with their self-titled five-song EP. “Starlight Girls” is to be released online Jan. 1, followed by a limited edition 7-inch in February.

In 2011, Starlight Girls evolved from Christina B, the music project and namesake of the group’s lead singer, keyboardist and flautist. As Christina, guitarist Shaw, drummer and vocalist Karys and bassist Mark began to collaborate more, they adopted the Starlight Girls moniker. The name might sound familiar, coming from a group of orphan girls fostered by a cheesy 1980s rocker chick in the animated television series, “Jem.” Fortunately, the band Starlight Girls sound nothing like the music from the cartoon, bypassing the ’80s and going back to an earlier decade to draw their influence.

More than any other period, Starlight Girls evoke the 1960s. Obscure lyrics, ambrosial female duet harmonies and vibrant instrumentation coalesce for music transported from that excellent time of experimentation. Straying from the rules of convention, they combine instruments and styles that don’t typically belong together, like the flute and organ or bossa nova, cabaret and surf.

Christina B welcomes listeners into the Starlight Girls carnival with the catty “Gossip.” The lead single of the EP, it is accompanied online with a kaleidoscopic video that looks as if it was filmed in a madhouse. It is an excellent representation of who the Starlight Girls are – strange, colorful and unbound from the norm.

Starlight Girls may be vintage, but their music benefits from modern technology, which allows them to easily layer multiple instruments and pack the intensity of an orchestra into a four-person band.
The powerful wall of sound allows for the creation of the dark, hypnotic landscape on “Wallflower.” Combined with Christina B’s 1960s Grace Slick soul on top, the dramatic song leaves an enduring imprint.

The EP is short but will induce the curiosity of many, especially those who like music that throws listeners back into another era. The Starlight Girls will likely captivate people who are into retro acts like the Black Keys, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and Best Coast.

Starlight Girls’ initial effort is genuine and earnest, but due to their locale and burgeoning status, they’re likely attracting the hipster crowd. While their lyrics may be mysterious and their music a departure from the usual stream of pop, Starlight Girls is not an esoteric group for people who have too many pairs of skinny jeans and chunky non-prescription eyeglasses. But if the hipsters show up to their shows and buy their music, at least they’re advancing a group that should be heard outside of their Brooklyn flat.

Starlight Girls are online at http://www.starlightgirls.net. - Mountain Times

Starlight Girls‘ “Flutterby” captures a hard-to-pinpoint sentiment that lies somewhere between menacing and sweet. If the song was an animal, it would be the kind that you want to pet but can’t decide if you should because you fear it might snap at you or claw your face. To go with the the song, the band has enlisted the help of some puppets who take these visuals into some strange territory. A dream? A nightmare? It’s hard to say. - Pigeons & Planes

Starlight Girls sound like the band that should probably be playing your Halloween party, drinking all your pumpkin ale, and stealing all your candy. They play songs that sound like something straight off the soundtrack from a ‘60s B-movie. Think the kind of songs Soledad Miranda would dance around to in a Jesus Franco flick (Count Dracula for one). Some more musical references: French pop songs by France Gall or Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, the dark surf instrumental “Munsters” theme song by Jack Marshall, fuzzed-out Nuggets like The Seeds or The Music Machine’s “Trouble,” and even Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald. Somehow, in five songs on one EP, The Starlight Girls conjure up all this and more. - Impose Magazine

Back in January, we declared Brooklyn’s Starlight Girls a group to watch. We even had the burgeoning four-piece play a Prefix-hosted "Free Fix" show at Cameo (a venue located in the band's home turf). Today, we’re offering an exclusive, free download of Starlight Girls' self-titled, debut EP.

From the surfy, funhouse swirl of opener “Gossip” to the nervy, baroque charge of “Wasteland,” the EP’s final song; this five-track introduction to the group is certainly a promising indication of things to come. You can download the EP here, via Prefix’s Soundcloud page. - Prefix Magazine

The other day I received an email from Christina B of Brooklyn’s Starlight Girls…it started off with a disclaimer:

“I know that having ‘girls’ in our name and being from brooklyn evokes a certain image of a band but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you hear.”

Oh man was I ever. Yes it’s throwback rock and roll, but this duo DOES IT SO SO WELL. The duet harmonies, the song structure, all shine bright. Their S/T EP (which comes out at the beginning of 2012 followed by a February vinyl release) immediately hooks you with “Gossip” then blows you away with the dramatics of “Wallflower”. It cruises on from there ending with my new favorite song “Wasteland”. - Pasta Primavera