"you take your suffering / you make it magic..."
At first awash in slightly muffled reflections of sound, like memories turning over in your head, "Magdala" by Portland's dream pop Starover Blue, beautifully slow burns against interweaving intricacies and booming heaviness as a framework for Kendall Sallay's evocative vocals that hold tender words about loss and love, faith and friendship beyond worlds. The track written about the death of her friend / musical hero / collaborator.
She shares this:
"My dear friend/one of my musical heroes died on October 20, 2020. He was just 34. Before he passed away he had been encouraging me not to beat myself up over a long dry patch of not writing any new songs. In the few days after his passing, I wrote this song out of grief. I felt like it was a parting gift from him to me, so it means a lot to me to finally be putting it online. It contains an audio clip of a voicemail he left for me at 03:50."
In the end "Magdala" is impactful and the stitching together of dream pop tones, the grand gestures of sound hinting baroque pop, and the post punk dreaminess sewn together by bass, drum, guitar synergy and other orchestrations of sound sweep you up. Apart from the beautiful arrangements, the core chord shapes and melodies are everything, even stripped back those key songwriting elements would punch me in the gut.
From Liner Notes (bracketed):
Founding members Kendall Sallay and Dirk Milotz began the group in 2007 while studying music at San Jose State University, then relocated to Portland in 2016 where they reformed as a six-piece. The band’s penchant for lush vocal harmonies, textural experimentation, and subtle use of odd meters appeals to fans of acts ranging from Cocteau Twins, Beach House, and Big Thief to The Joy Formidable, The Velvet Teen, and Wye Oak.
A new EP is underway for 2024 release, taking inspiration from heavier-hitting indie rock versus the synth pop textures of 2019 LP Ordinary Magic and 2016 debut Spacegeist.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1u68uyt2kCHZcCKSjvgLYy
https://staroverblue.bandcamp.com/track/magdala
https://www.instagram.com/staroverblue/
https://www.staroverblue.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@staroverblue
The nostalgic tones of a Juno-106 combine with ambient layers, sparkling guitars, and airy, bittersweet vocals to define Portland dream pop band Starover Blue.
Founding members Kendall Sallay and Dirk Milotz began the group in 2007 while studying music at San Jose State University, then relocated to Portland in 2016 where they reformed as a six-piece. The band’s penchant for lush vocal harmonies, textural experimentation, and subtle use of odd meters appeals to fans of acts ranging from Cocteau Twins, Beach House, and Big Thief to The Joy Formidable, The Velvet Teen, and Wye Oak.
A new EP is underway for 2024 release, taking inspiration from heavier-hitting indie rock versus the synth pop textures of 2019 LP Ordinary Magic and 2016 debut Spacegeist.
Starover Blue, dream pop, alt pop, melancholia, indie rock, post punk, shoegaze, "Magdala", homage to a friend, Portland Oregon, 3rd upcoming album to be released in 2024,
No comments:
Post a Comment