At a free show the Flaming Lips played last August in Del Mar, CA on the infield of the horse-racing track I showed up early to catch the opening band with the interesting name. The first sounds that came roaring out of the speakers when they started to play was familiar to me. It was Black Sabbath's 'Sweet Leaf' a song I never dreamed to hear played live. They had my attention and kept it through the entire set, melting the crowds faces with 10 minute jams of 3 minute songs.
Stardeath and White Dwarfs, headed by Lips' lead-singer Wayne Coyne's nephew, Dennis Coyne, are almost constantly written off as a band hyped only because of their relation to Wayne and his shameless promotion of them as the opening band at Flaming Lips shows for the past couple of years. What those who ignore the relevancy and quality of this band fail to realize however is that the Flaming Lips, who could fill their undercard with any number of top-shelf acts, chose not to, and instead have time and again given the spot to their one-time roadies (and still sometimes roadies) Stardeath and White Dwarfs. This is no accident. This band is neo-psychedelic goodness at work.
Having only previously released one quality EP, 'That's Cool' in 2005, their debut LP, 'The Birth' shows the signs of a band emerging from the womb of the Flaming Lips school of rock. The influence of the Lips is all over this LP but not in the sense of copy-catting their work, but rather using their template to begin a new generation of bands that are following in the Lips footsteps; creating weird psychedelic rock tunes that evoke imagery of Martian desert landscapes and ganja-smoke filled back rooms. Invariably some people will point to the similarity of Dennis Coyne's falsetto to that of his uncle Wayne but it fits the music well. Other influences such as the aforementioned Black Sabbath and Crazy Horse-era Neil Young show through on many tracks quite clearly.
As a cohesive piece of music, the album feels a bit disjointed but the standout tracks like "New Heat", "Those Who Are From The Sun Return To The Sun", and "Smoking Pot Makes Me Not Want To Kill Myself" more than make up for the albums low points. Casey Joseph the band's bassist really provides a solid backbone for the songs, giving them a surprisingly upbeat feel especially on "New Heat" which is the first single off the album (and my favorite track). Some songs are ballad-like such as the aptly named "Country Ballad" but even there and at other slow-paced moments on the album, you can tell these guys are trying to create an ebb-and-flow type of sound like the tides of the beach.
Lyrically, the band explores similar a similar psychosis that the Flaming Lips reverted back to this past year with 'Embryonic'; lyrics about death, boredom, and the introspective nature of the universe abound. It's about what one would expect from an album like this and there are seldom any lyrical marvels to be found, but it doesn't really detract from the music which is the real draw of the album.
And if you enjoy this album then I also highly suggest you check out their cover collaborations with, The Flaming Lips; a cover of Madonna's 'Borderline' that was released for last year's Record Store Day, and most recently their cover of Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' also featuring Peaches (...) and Henry Rollins (! ...) which was played in it's entirety at their joint New Year's Eve show in Oklahoma City and will be played in it's entirety again as THE highlight at this year's semi-flacid Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee.
I highly recommend you travel the cosmos Stardeath and White Dwarf's on this album. Their young and full energy and worth every penny if they come to shine the light of their dying sun on your city sometime soon.
-Zach Jaffe
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