Although they haven’t been together long, The Starlight Magic Hour have attracted a great deal of attention for their genre-defying depictions of ne’er-do-well wastrels. And while their penchant for NSFW lyrics makes them fitting signees to London label ‘Permanent Creeps’, there is a perverse pleasure to be found in the Starlight Magic Hour’s music. Not least because the 7-piece certainly have an ear for a tune.
On their debut EP ‘The End of The Party’, The Starlight Magic Hour deliver strong choruses throughout which serves to anchor an EP that has little fidelity to a consistent sound. Even within songs, the band veers into unexpected territory with varying degrees of success; the pavement-lite of ‘Song to Jonny’ fits like a glove while the super-funky coda to ‘The Child of Rage (I want to feel love)’ is more like a borrowed identity. The main thrust of their music does however bring certain indie touchstones to mind. To give you some idea, imagine a more folksy Fat White Family or if Lou Reed was lead singer of The Fall.
Overall, ‘The End of The Party’ plays as a series of sleazy vignettes projected onto a wall of endearingly lo-fi guitars. An acquired taste perhaps but on their debut EP, The Starlight Magic Hour are apparently intent on demonstrating their versatility across 5 songs which are brim full of ideas.
We’ve added The Starlight Magic Hour have been added to our Radio playlist on Spotify. Listen here.
Header photo by Through the eyes of Ruby