The Other Stars – We Were Kids

This is Massachusetts quartet The Other Stars debut release, it contains seven tracks of what has come to be known as indie rock, but don’t let that put you off, I’m aware that the number of unoriginal bands now hiding under that particular umbrella is approaching critical mass, thankfully this album sounds like a band that have avoided the clichéd pitfalls that many of their contemporaries have fallen into. This is a distinctly bittersweet offering featuring introspective lyrical content but don’t let that description fool you, We Were Kids is not just another predictable indie release.

This is a band which seems to have absorbed the past two decades by osmosis and have incorporated them into an impressive melodic upbeat debut. There are distinct touches of pop punk in the vocal delivery, there are brief flashes in some of the songs where they sound as if they are possessed by the ghost of the original Blink 182 line up, alongside this I can hear the influence of post Husker Du Bob Mould informing this release. This is a near perfect marriage of indie rock, pop punk and emo, the blend is just right and what has been produced is a heartfelt exhilarating debut overlaid with some intensely earnest idiosyncratic lyrics.

The songs build up to anthemic choruses and there are some superb uplifting guitar riffs on display throughout We Were Kids which means that this adds up to being an impressive debut release. The seven tracks contained on this release are so consistent that you can’t pick out a favourite, of course the flip side of this means that there also isn’t a track that hooks you for repeated listening but you can’t have everything. The Other Stars have produced a fresh offering in an overcrowded marketplace. and that is something worth taking notice of

We Were Kids can be purchased here.