Starpainter and the illusionary garden rock beauty of "Blood In The Snow #3"

 

"let me keep double visions of myself..."

I am no spring chicken. The cons of being an older music writer is that I may not have the need or desire to brave sweaty mosh pits as much. The pros are that someone once said that the music of a generation is a tapestry of our lives and I guess I have seen more, felt more tapestries than some of my younger counterparts. 

Listening to the blood pumping intense poetic garden rock / folk country narrative of Starpainter on their latest "Blood In The Snow" made me cast a large wide smile. The kind of glassy eyed smile that makes my wife worry and sends shivers in the hearts of small children. I guess that the pedal steel sway, back bar piano, the absolutely stunning earnest lyrics and melodies, the spicy country porch folk blues electric guitar work, the sound of those amazing drums and most especially a vocal aesthetic that shot a Jackson Browne arrow right through my heart, took me back and forward at the same time. The wistful nature of the track is absorbing and expansive. For whatever reason, I also thought of Crosby Stills Nash and Young (all the individual parts and together) and Warren Zevon. Zevon, maybe because in between the heartfelt poetry I feel tattered strands of social commentary and even dark (healthy) cynicism about life and love poking through.

The soundscape here as press notes reveal: "roomy drums, melodic bass lines, tightly woven guitars and organs - subtly incorporating new sonic elements, such as nylon-string guitar, upright piano, mellotron flutes" are transportive and their upcoming EP "Blood In The Snow" features three interpretations of one track in order to tell three versions of one story set in a semi-fictional small town that bears a resemblance to singer-songwriter Joel Stretch’s upbringing in Alberta.

“[Blood In The Snow #3] is trying to deliver the delirious and bittersweet feeling of hanging on to something that used to be good but has become unhealthy,” explains Stretch.

“Everything has gone wrong at once, but you just go out and drink and hang with your friends and try to forget about it for a while instead of dealing with anything - darkness looms in the periphery but you choose to ignore it.”

Interesting concept, artful and divergent. In the end, "Blood In The Snow #3" is a great, great track that I hope to fall asleep to tonight sparking dreams of bygone times (when I had hair) and of cold surf in Northern California waters. You can conjure up your own visions. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

Starpainter · Blood In The Snow #3

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

https://www.facebook.com/StarpainterBand

https://twitter.com/starpainterband

https://soundcloud.com/user-993196554

https://www.instagram.com/starpainterband/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/12PMNRQFZzmXrwS3ge7qbO


Starpainter wear their influences on their sleeves, showcasing songwriting craftsmanship and an affinity for classic folk rock and alt-country tones. “Blood in the Snow” further develops a signature sound established on their debut record last year – roomy drums, melodic bass lines, tightly woven guitars and organs – but subtly incorporates new sonic elements too: nylon-string guitar, upright piano, mellotron flutes. This new EP tells three versions of the same story, existing in a semi-fictional small-town universe where it’s usually winter, people are usually drinking, and things are usually not going very well – sort of Robert Kroetsch, sort of a Fargo, sort of real-world small-town Alberta. These songs are steeped in the tradition of prairie-born artistry with a pop sensibility that defies their youth.

Starpainter, garden rock, 70's tones, country folk, folk indie, indie country rock, storytelling rock, "Blood In The Snow #3", Alberta, Canada, beautiful poetry, earnest vox,