Star Parks - “Something More”

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 2

Pairs Well With…Band of Horses, The Flaming Lips, My Morning Jacket

Smooth indie rock/pop with cinematic inflections of horns and strings, Star Parks elevates their sophomore record The New Sounds of Late Capitalism to something bigger than just the sum of parts on the cohesively ambitious effort. Hazy, garage pop modes criss-cross with breezy, mid-tempo rock structures on Star Parks’ latest full-length, a record that pulls back to classic 60s pop and rock influences but delivers them with a slighted, bedroom pop croon. It’s an impressive evolution of psychedelic rock/pop styles and one that has Star Parks’ finding a tight pocket throughout the whole of The New Sounds of Late Capitalism. (Kevin McStravick)

2017 Review: Star Parks bring a few different genres to their confluent table, a mix of dream pop, alt country and psychedelic rock that yields a hypnotic, but focused template. It’s interesting to hear what could be 70s throwback material washed out in an echoing haze, a consistent sound that stretches across their 2016 debut Don’t Dwell. Horns, piano and strings add to the cinematic tone that Star Parks dips into, tones of ambition beyond the expected. “Loose Ends” subtly builds into a breezy pop track while “Theoretical Girls” present a similar path, but emotes through symphonic waves triumphantly. Star Parks pull all of these explorations off with commitment, not so much melding influences as jumping in head first, like knowledgable experts even from note one.