Weeks ago, rock quartet Starbenders created an explosive genre-fusion of what I can only refer to as “new wave glam” with their newest album, Take Back the Night. The 13-track record is a lovechild of early Motley Crue, The Runaways, and Pat Benatar, intertwined with ethereal synth and catchy pop hooks. It’s a fresh take on old favorites. The band demonstrates originality not only from their retro influences, but with a modern twist.
It’s easy to look at Starbenders, expect a duplicate of LA Guns, listen to Take Back the Night and say, “but it doesn’t sound like the 80s!” Well, that’s the point. And it’s not a bad thing! A lot of bands seek to find something fresh through imitation alone, mimicking the big hair and bell bottoms of different classic rock eras in hopes to revive the genre. While a vintage look is appealing to the eye, it’s easy to overlook these bands for being too similar to their influences, lacking that bit of pizzazz that makes a new act refreshing.
There has to be something innovative brought to the table in order to appeal to the next generation of music listeners. “The revival” of rock and roll, which is wishful thinking in the first place, has to come organically. It has to form through the band’s passion and energy, not just through a tireless effort to replicate the sound of 1987. Take Back the Night is unapologetically a product of our time with an effortless touch of glam rock, punk, and pop metal.
For example, songs like Marianne and Cherry Wine take what could be a standard pop tune and pair it with distortion, subtle synth, and Kimi Shelter’s powerful blend of a sultry Stevie Nicks growl and a Ronnie James Dio scream. Blood Moon opens with a guitar riff that could’ve come from Motley Crue’s 1981 debut, paired with vocals that chant the lyrics much like a 90s punk tune.
This is genre blending done seamlessly. Now is the only time in which bands can take four decades worth of rock and mash them together into a new wave of rock and roll. Starbenders took advantage of it ten fold.
My personal favorite is the opening track, The Game. It’s got all the drama of a hair metal ballad, with Kimi Shelter and guitarist Chris Tojaki bringing the intensity to create a molten metal epic about the unpredictable test of time.
In essence, Take Back the Night is what I consider to be a pivotal moment in the slow-moving but prominent effort to push a hard rock resurgence in an era of over-polished, overproduced pop. Starbenders took a little bit of everything and delivered consistency in the form of danceable, singable, fist-pumping music that encapsulates what the genre of rock and roll has the potential to evolve into.
