Ringo Deathstarr

Ringo Deathstarr. Ringo Deathstarr? OK, obviously the name is horrendous. It's hard to get over how bad the name of this band is. But once that enormous hurdle is overcome, you can probably get a really great listen out of this Austin band.

Compared to most bands trying to mimic the sound of this same era, RDS are leaps and bounds ahead of the pack. All of the things the pretenders get wrong, RDS get right. The song tempos are slow but insistent, the bass is heavy and motoring, the ethereal female vocal tracks are breezy but lush. They seem to have listened to the shoegazer canon in a deeper more contemplative way than most of their contemporaries.

This might also be their biggest problem, though. Upon my first few listens, I love that tracks evoke JAMC, Lush, Chapterhouse, The Red House Painters, Slowdive and the like. I love that sound, and this band nails it. But I am not sure that, in the long run, Ringo Deathstar have done enough to make me like them in particular. This might be decided by time more than anything else, and I am hopeful that with more time, I will find something in RDS songs that I can't find anywhere else. But if you simply want a new band that sounds like other bands you may already love, this is a great option.