Starling Electric
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Starling Electric

Band Alternative Rock

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Press


"US Press"

"Q: You are notorious for being brutally honest in your assesments of contemporaries (a certain mop-haired, Omaha songwriter, for example); is there an artist you have heard recently that you you've truly enjoyed?"

"A: When I go off on someone at a show it's usually half out of jest or because of who they're dating. You also have to sell more records than I do. I like the High Strung, Sea Change, Starling Electric, and Kings of Leon."

-Robert Pollard, Gothamist Band Interview; November 13, 2006
(full article)

"'Clouded Staircase' is definitely a TOP TEN record of 2006 for me personally..."

-Jon Auer, The Posies / Big Star

"'Clouded Staircase' fairly vibrates with a 60s pop vibe, down to the catchy ba-ba-bas. Its almost as if Brian Wilson himself were folded in among the notes, occasionally popping his head out to smile approvingly at his progeny."

-Whitney Spotts, Lansing City Pulse; June 15, 2005 (full article)

"'Clouded Staircase' is a dead ringer for mid-'60s era sunshine pop in the spirit of Herman's Hermits, the Zombies, Left Banke and the Monkees. Dillon's vocal harmonies are distant echoes, wispy and complex, not quite hitting the soaring power of Crosby, Stills and Nash, but reminiscent of the Beach Boys, the Byrds and the Mamas and the Papas, complete with all the bah-bah-bah and ooh-wah-ooh-wah backgrounds you can handle."

-Erin Schultz, NOISE; August 3, 2005 (full article)

"Startling and arch orchestral pop music of the best kind. Really amazing stuff. It calls to mind the greats of the 60s, Elvis Costello after he stopped being so angry, and Eric Matthews if you remember him. Great stuff. Detroit might be facing a new pop renaissance... get ready! "

-www.lagerhousedetroit.com

"Ann Arbor's Starling Electric actually ticked the 'Psychedelic' box on MySpace, yet I find them very listenable. Yes they like Byrds-style arpeggios, old organs and drugs-era Brian Wilson harmonies, but they keep the underlying songs tight and catchy."

-Keith N. Dusenberry, Real Detroit Weekly; November 2, 2005

"This Michigan group is not just some band people "kind of like" and go out to see when they feel like drinking and hanging out - this is a band people ADORE. Starling Electric's members have their hands on the stuff of which legends like Guided By Voices were made."

-Jason Gibner, The Ann Arbor Paper; April 2006 - Various


Discography

LP - Clouded Staircase (coming 2008 on Bar/None Records)

Photos

Bio

"We are a midwest electric company representing all things melodic, baroque, psychedelicate, and true. We specialize in everything truly great about pop music from 1965 to 1977. We are proud purveyors of both pomp and pop. You can even sing along. You can even remember our songs the next day..."

Starling Electric was originally formed by singer/songwriter Caleb Dillon, and has since grown into the dynamic four-piece that exists today. Described as "...startling and arch orchestral pop music of the best kind", the group is a melting pot of 60s and 70s influences - the melodic harmonies of the Beach Boys, Zombies, and The Byrds; the prog and art-rock exploration of Yes, 10cc, Genesis, and Elton John; the baroque craftsmanship of the Left Banke and Love; and the pomposity and swagger of The Who, Queen, and ELO. In our first two years playing together, we shared bills with Robert Pollard, The Hidden Cameras, Evan Dando, Saturday Looks Good To Me, The Sights, Canada, Chris Bathgate, Great Lakes Myth Society, The Satin Peaches, and many others. We headlined every major city in our home state of Michigan, including two years at the Metro Times Blowout in Detroit.

Starling Electric has been featured in magazines such as the Detroit Metro Times, Real Detroit Weekly, Lansing City Pulse, The East Lansing State News, and the Northern Michigan Express, as well as a cover story and interview in the Ann Arbor Paper and a cover feature in Lansing's Noise Magazine. We were featured and interviewed for Detroit's WDET Radio Benefit in March of 2005, and have received an impressive amount of airplay on college radio in Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Traverse City. We were voted "Best Rock Artist" by the readers of the Ann Arbor Current two summers ago. In December of 2004, our song "Camp-Fire" was showcased in an episode of the UPN television series, "Veronica Mars".

Our debut album, Clouded Staircase, was self-released in the summer of 2006 to critical acclaim and a loyal fan base. Recorded entirely at our home studio, its 18 original tracks represent no less than a mission statement - or maybe a call to arms for anyone still interested in melodies, harmonies, and the power of good pop song. Clouded Staircase soon caught the attention of Robert Pollard (of Guided By Voices), who invited us to open for him on his fall '06 tour which included shows at New York City's Bowery Ballroom, Philadelphia, and Boston. Soon after, the group was championed by Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow (Posies/Big Star) on BBC-6 Radio and their respective websites. Starling Electric began the new year by signing with Bar/None Records, who will officially release their Clouded Staircase album in 2008.

"'Clouded Staircase' is definitely a TOP TEN record for me personally..."
-Jon Auer, The Posies / Big Star

"Startling and arch orchestral pop music of the best kind. Really amazing stuff. It calls to mind the greats of the 60s...Detroit might be facing a new pop renaissance..."
-www.lagerhousedetroit.com

"...This is a band people ADORE. Starling Electric's members have their hands on the stuff of which legends like Guided By Voices were made."
-Jason Gibner, The Ann Arbor Paper; April 2006