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September 07, 2008
Video: Starfucker - "Ahhz" (live in Portland)
I was looking to You Tube to solidify my stance on Portland's impending it-band Starfucker, but really I think this just complicates it. This art damaged footage, sculpted from the tape of a hometown show earlier this year, is mysterious in its ability to frustrate while it compels. Unless you are a die-hard fan of "psychedelic" color saturation and precious costumes, the first two minutes are a total wash. All we get is indulgent laptop drone that suggests these kids have embraced the very worst patience trying impulses of live shows by Brooklyn experimentalists like Animal Collective and Black Dice. Plug in, fade up, fuck you, as it were.
But then, at 2:35, as the tones begin to congeal into actual melodic components, things start looking up. An odd bit of video foreshadowing comes next, as the band is seen rocking out incongruously to the still-building tones. But, then, right about three minutes, some confidently day-glo pop materializes from the midst of the sonic sadism, and the band easily betters the studio version of their "Burnin' Up" b-side, "Ahhz." I'm still slightly torn, I guess, but the moments in which Starfucker are on, display a certain something enough to justify the wave of hype I feel increasingly confident in forecasting for our digital shores.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at September 7, 2008 06:50 PM
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