Music — Consumed

2018 · Starcrawler

Starcrawler's debut is a blast of sweaty, distorted rock that sounds like it was beamed in from CBGB's 1975. Arrow de Wilde's vocals teeter between seductive coo and unhinged shriek, while the band churns through riffs that feel lifted from the Stooges' playbook but with a sharper, more contemporary bite. Ryan Adams' production gives the record a polished rawness, capturing the band's live chaos while maintaining enough clarity to let each instrument breathe.

The album doesn't reinvent garage rock, it just does it with conviction. Tracks like "I Love LA" and "Let Her Be" showcase the band's ability to balance melody with aggression, trading in classic rock structures for maximum impact. De Wilde's stage presence translates surprisingly well to record, her delivery adding theatrical weight to otherwise straightforward punk anthems.

What makes this debut compelling is its refusal to apologize for what it is: loud, brash rock music that knows its influences and leans into them completely. In an era of overproduced indie rock, Starcrawler sounds refreshingly unpolished and direct. It's not trying to be clever or subversive, it's just trying to make you move, and it succeeds.