|
December 2007 It's been a while since I've found myself obsessed with robots and outer-space, yet recently, I was at first delighted to stumble upon Stuporhero's latest release, Last Star Shining. This Seattle-born trio of music and life partners Will Troy and Jen Garrett and Chuckles—a Portland, Ore. native often found modeling clothing in the windows of retail stores; aka a mannequin—brings listeners back to a time when naive optimism colored our experiences. Word on the street is Stuporhero's punky-fuzzy-pop style has taken Seattle's indie rockers by surprise—winning fans across many genres. The robotic melodies in Last Star initially made me a little crazy but I was pleasantly surprised by the satirical flavor and self-affirming lyrics of the final song (plus bonus track). Most likely finding root in the band's musical heritage, "Punk Like You" concludes the album by chanting, "You can't tell me who I'm supposed to be / It can only come from inside me." If that weren't enough to make you run home and hug yourself, the bonus track brings you to your knees. A beautiful chorus of "Let your freak flag fly" equates to Stuporhero personally sending out a kiss-sealed love-note exclaiming, "I'm cool and so are you ... Let's be friends." Being a cynic at heart, Stuporhero's optimism put me in a funk. Only when rescued by the final track of this ambitiously bright album did I truly start to enjoy the band's satire-meets-pop-meets-space cadet tone. And from what I hear, Chuckles rocks the drums. Jilian Foster September 2007Armchairs and Earphones At first listen to Stuporhero and their sophomore effort Last Star Shining you swear you just finished listening to the soundtrack for another Adult Swim creation. With their songs about super balls, flying saucers, and robots you may dismiss the Seattle duo of Jen Garrett and Will Troy as a couple of crazy kids on acid making nonsense synth/punk rock to appease a cult following. But underneath the glossy and sugary surface lies much more intelligence and art then one might give credit for. “Flying Discs” kicks off the record with it’s synth swoop and fuzz distorted guitar, as Will Troy’s vocals kick in to tell the tale of people watching a UFO performing aerial tricks. As silly as it sounds, from the first second you are intrigued and wonder where this is going but after only forty-five seconds the song is over leaving you scratching your head. But you immediately forget why you're upset as you are pulled into the high energy rocker “Superball.” Jen Garrett takes the lead on this one and sounds like a teenage girl in a cartoon singing for a rock band. “Superball” and the next track “Last Star Shining” are both fun, laced with punk rock and synth influences, but both end on sad notes that are overlooked by the deceivingly happy music. Stuporhero are not out to trick anyone with their music. Not all of the songs are doom and gloom with a sweet candy coating, most of the songs are fun, danceable, and brilliant. Take the Cat Stevens cover of “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out” it’s filled with flying synth sounds and a tremendous of amount of happy fuzz pop that you can’t help but smile when you hear their version of it. This isn’t the only cover that they pull off however, they also do a fantastic version of The Flaming Lips “You Have to Be Joking.” Stuporhero is not all glitz and glamour, during the middle of the album their high energy fuzz pop tends to fizzle and they tend to favor more subtle and indie inspired tones. In a sense Last Star Shining is like a piece of candy. The first six tracks will have you bouncing off the walls and doing unnecessary jumping, while the middle of the record will have you sitting on a swing and enjoying a summer breeze. “Vantage Point” has a very cool indie pop feel to it with a great driving bass line and a cool keyboard in the chorus that masquerades a sad song about a broken relationship. “21 Beer Salute” “Solarium” and “Chasing Fireflies” all have very catchy but different guitar lines. “21 Beer Salute” has a very intriguing tremolo/delay guitar effect that sets the tone for quite a somber number. “Solarium” is probably the darkest sounding song on the record with a heavy drum line and dark guitar sound, but picks back up with the anthem like “Chasing Fireflys” with it’s strong harmonized vocals and a happy and bouncy guitar lead, we get back to what Stuporhero was doing in the beginning, making us feel good. The vocals on the album definitely stand out, especially on tracks such as “5 O’clock Mad Dash” where the two harmonize and it sounds like a 60’s pop song filled with sunny days and warms beaches. “Chasing Fireflies” and “Lobotomy Hill” are also tracks where the duo’s combined vocals are quite elegant and carry a heavy weight on the songs successfulness. After you get through the mid tempo numbers the album goes back into it’s fuzz pop routine at track thirteen with the song “Deathbot.” It’s a catchy number but by this time the sugar high has wore off and the remaining four songs are just filler and theirs no energy left to go back outside for a game of tag. Stuporhero however, creates a gem of a sophomore album that’s filled with many highs and little lows. The different sounds and influences they are able to draw from are very impressive but get a little long toward the end. After listening to the record though, you will feel satisfied and applaud their creativeness and be happy that they have created a record that is for pure enjoyment in moderate to high doses. Jason Buettner September 2007 Ink 19 Pleasant sounding Stuporhero is a band with a base in folk rock and a penchant for clever lyrics. Jen Garrett and Will Troy formed the band from the remnants of another obscure Seattle band "Tarantulada." With a smooth, mellow lo-fi sound, their songs have an innocence that makes repeated listening bearable. The upbeat "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" is a Cat Stevens cover, and here it sounds a little less precious than the original. "Solarium" follows showing a deeper, moody side to the duo, but the weirdest cut lurks near the end in the touching "Deathbot" with its lament to a destruction spewing robot that only wants a friend. All in all, Stuporhero presents a nice, melodic disc with fun hooks and enjoyable melodies. My only complaint is the "secret track" consisting of 8 minutes of street noises. It's better to endure silence than searching for an arty nothingness just to fill space. Carl F Gauze September 2007 IndiePages I thought this Seattle duo's (or trio, if you count a drumming mannequin - which they do) first record was good, so I was looking forward to hearing more from them; well, this second album of theirs is just as good as the first one! The songs sound a bit cleaner this time around (thanks to the much-improved recording quality), but musically, this isn't too different from the previous record - mostly composed of short and frequently silly songs that sound like a young Guided By Voices recording for Elephant 6. There are even a couple covers this time around: the Flaming Lips' "You Have To Be Joking" and Cat Stevens' "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out", both done in the band's own style. Oh, you'll find songs about yo-yo stunts, superballs and killer robots, but then sometimes, they'll show a slightly more serious side in songs like "Solarium" and the power-poppy title track. The album does suffer from a few too many slower, quieter songs - some of which appear consecutively (which can kill the momentum) - but as they're rarely longer than a couple minutes, things quickly pick up again. MTQ=12/16 August 2007 Flagpole Stuporhero is the boy/ girl/ mannequin indie pop band from Seattle featuring the husband-and-wife duo of Jen Garrett (bass, vocals, cello and synth) and Will Troy (guitar, vocals, trumpet and synth) and their plastic companion Chuckles on drums. When performing live, Will and Jen play to pre-recorded drum tracks while Chuckles sits behind a child's drum set. Stuporhero's latest effort, Last Star Shining, is a collection of 16 exuberantly peppy pop melodies, jangly guitars and hopelessly endearing lyrics. The only negative to Last Star Shining is the unflattering arrangement of tracks on the CD. It opens with "Flying Discs," which is surprisingly a bit of a snoozer. Second track "Superball" has an incredible build-up that entices the audience to take a closer listen, which would have been more suitable for an opener. The rest of the album is packed with catchy upbeat hooks and fleeting somber moments. The best track on the album, "Vantage Point," encompasses both ends of the spectrum as Troy croons, "Let's open up the windows and let in the rain / Drive away and don't look back / I don't wanna remember us this way." The album ends with the buoyant acoustic song "Punk like You," which dissolves into hypnotic tabla and Wurlitzer over chanting "Let your freak flag fly." Last Star Shining ends up being one part Television Personalities and one part Guided by Voices mixed to the beat of something resembling lo-fi pop-punk; a generally happy little album for generally happy little people. Charley LeeAugust 2007 PopMatters Don’t let short and sweet fool you, Stuporhero are quite adept at both. The opener “Flying Discs” sounds like a perfect three-minute pop prize but cuts out 40 seconds after it starts. Nonetheless, Last Star Shining is quite stunning to listen to. This is especially true of the toe-tapping “Superball” that’s a bundle of sonic energy while the title track is worthy of multiple hundred listens. But Stuporhero up the ante a bit with the rowdy, Replacements-ish “You Have to Be Joking” which is gloriously ragged around the edges. Fans of smart Brit pop acts would also enjoy the tender “Vantage Point” that rarely gets above a mid-tempo beat. Another highlight halfway through is “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out” which causes at least subtle humming on the listener’s part as does the high harmonies that makes “Chasing Fireflies” quite delectable. Overall, it is a short album but one which would leave one smiling in a happy stupor. Jason MacNeil August 2007 The PhiLL(er) With song titles that include references to flying discs, superballs, and yo-yos, it should be abundantly clear that Seattle-based Stuporhero don't mind having a bit of fun. The duo of Jen Garrett and Will Troy, along with their drummer Chuckles, inject a good amount of playful energy into the fuzzy, poppy tracks without crossing into any unnecessarily cheesy territory or hyper-obnoxiousness—what I'm trying to say is that it's playful and poppy in a good way that won't make you want to puke. Stuporhero do explore a mellower sound on the album, particularly during the latter half of Last Star Shining, but it really doesn't compare to the earlier tracks, particularly their fuzzed-out rendition of Cat Stevens's "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" which, at its location as the ninth of sixteen tracks, pretty clearly marks the end of the energetic half of the album and makes way for the mellower sounds. Before I end this review, I guess I should mention that Chuckles, the drummer, is in fact a mannequin and proves, once and for all, that mannequins are actually better drummers than robots. As if there was any doubt about that. PhiLL Ramey August 2007Tastes Like Chicken Jen Garrett's voice reminds me of early Liz Phair (sexy), and Will Troy's voice, Matt Sharp of the Rentals. Together they sound like Pretty. Less spastic than The Dalmations. More pubic hair than Tilly and the Wall. Give this band some of your attention. Thank you. RATING: FIVE STARS August 2007 West Coast Performer The (alleged) Seattle trio Stuporhero is back on the scene with its sophomore album, Last Star Shining. Comprised of Will Troy (guitar, vocals), Jen Garrett (bass, vocals), and an apparent third member, “Chuckles” (the John Bonham-obsessed female mannequin drummer), this pop-punk indulgence produces quick and catchy tunes. Reminiscent of ‘90s experimental punk classic Neutral Milk Hotel, Stuporhero adds a refreshing and underlying Nerf Herder-esque humor that says, “We don’t take ourselves that seriously.” This buoyant treat will soon become summer’s not-so-guilty pleasure; after running through all 16 tracks (plus one surprising hidden bonus), the listener is left with little more than a stupefied grin. Though not purely lyrically driven, the album’s narrative adds an almost contradictory comic depth. Last Star Shining opens with “Flying Discs,” which, though lasting only 41 seconds, introduces the listener to the album in a way that appropriately depicts what lies ahead. The track is upbeat, the extraterrestrial metaphor potentially digging deeper into the human psyche: “Believe what you want but believe your own eyes.” Tracks such as “Superball” tell of the never-ending perils of the bouncy ball, yet maintain some thought-provoking morals. “5 O’clock Mad Dash” is set to yet another cheerful tone, but describes the “feeding frenzy” that “divides us each into separate parts” as the work day comes to a close. The fuzz guitar and intriguing arrangements of Last Star Shining are unique and familiar at the same time. Both the Cat Stevens and The Flaming Lips covers (“If You Want To Sing Out” and “You Have to be Joking,” respectively) pay homage to the original songs with a quintessential Stuporhero twist. Poised to bridge the pop/punk gap, the dynamic duo and mannequin sidekick revitalize experimental indie with a much needed — and perhaps overdue — twist. Jen Utley August 2007 Seattle Sound Magazine In their fourth band together, Jen Garrett and Will Troy of Stuporhero give us Last Star Shining, a collection of yet another 16 tracks from a classic indie-pop duo (trio, actually, if you count their mannequin drummer, Chuckles). Well-practiced and well-versed in the art of fuzz and wit, this latest offering comes packed with vocal melodies as hook-laden as the Ballard locks when the salmon run ("Lobotomy Hill", "Chasing Fireflies") and power-chord distortion as fuzzed as a cat lady's sofa (title track, "Superball"). Joseph Riippi June 2007 NPR's Open Mic Stuporhero get their rock 'n' roll power from the planet of Seattle. Their sound is too poppy to be grunge and too adorably lo-fi to be pop. Tired of being a boy/girl duo band compared to the White Stripes or Mates of State, Jen Garrett and Will Troy enlisted a third member. Enter Chuckles. Whether sitting behind a drumkit or standing behind a department store window, Chuckles, a plastic boy-wonder sidekick to be reckoned with, is a wonderfully kitsch MacGuffin for this "fuzzpopilicious" band. With songs about super balls, death robots, and the dubiously anthematic "Punk Like You," Stuporhero's latest album, Last Star Shining, is perfect driving music… if you're driving the Batmobile. June 2007 allmusic.com 4.5 stars by Jo-Ann Greene The Seattle duo (and their mannequin drummer) return with another slew of stupor-pendous songs on Last Star Shining, the pair's sophomore set. Across sixteen tracks and a hidden number, Jen Garrett and Will Troy's breezy, iridescent, not quite lo-fi, music shines bright. Where to start? How about towards the middle with the duo's joie de vivre laced cover of Cat Stevens' "If You Want to Sing Out", a song brimming with cheer and delivered up in the airiest punkrock style imaginable, think feather-weight Ramones. The set's other cover, a fabulous take on The Flaming Lip's "You Have to be Joking", is even more inspired, crashingWho-esque power chords straight into twangy country guitar. Even more impressive is "Solarium", which beautifully evokes proggy hardrock, whilst remaining as gentle as a lamb. "Prisoners of War", in contrast, is a hoot, hitting just about every hardrock-progrock-jazz fusion touchstone in under a minute and a half. The majestic "Lobotomy Hill", meanwhile, captures the epic heights of orchestral 60s rock in even shorter time. As for the acid-drenched hidden track with it's repeated refrain of "Let your freak flag fly," it perfectly recreates and subverts psychedelia in all its glory. At their core, though, Stuporhero are pop fans, and there's a slew of unadulterated, flawless poppers within, with the top of this reviewer's pops the exuberantly bouncy "Superball" and the harmony-laced, synth-spaced "Deathbot". Both numbers end in heart-break, with the latter a real hankie grabber, while the giddy "Chasing Fireflies", echoes of the pleasures of childhood, but whirls with darker hadows. Yearning for the past, worried for the future, even a "21 Beer Salute" hints that rarely does all end well. But the 'heros bright music, gentle atmospheres, and sweet vocals infuse even the saddest tales with a tinge of hope, and if not, move one to dance along until happiness finally arrives. June 2007 www.leftofthedialmag.com So, toss a musical salad with two married young folk who bounce back and forth all flat-footed and fuzzed and fidgety, and then add a mannequin drummer whose plastic approach sounds like Moe Tucker having elbow spasms at times (and other times its just lean and punchy), and you get a very tiny picture of the band. Reviewers have consistently touted them as following in the steps of Neutral Milk Hotel and Guided by Voices, which is partly on cue, but I think of the 1990s in general, from Butterglory to Boyracer to the Dambuilders. At their most combustible and hip-swiveling, like “5 O’clock Mad Dash,” the soundscape is duct-taped together into a hodgepodge of art-ricocheting dance, ratty couch messiness, and casual one-minute long compressed surrealism. It’s like they take Wire and the Minutemen, keep the boiled intensity, but add in disparate, ghostly, mad dash pop tendencies... |
