STARFISH

This is a very special album for me. People have said they feel sorry for me that when I started to really get into music it was 1980, and we all know how bad the eighties were for music. I did feel that way around 1987, it was such a bleak time music wise for me, but not the first half of the decade. I was listening to "Heaven And Hell" by BLACK SABBATH, "Permanent Waves' by RUSH, "Piece Of Mind" by IRON MAIDEN along with AC/DC and the classics like FLOYD and ZEP and many other "Hard Rock" bands of that time. I remember "New Wave" music being all over the radio, I actually liked some of it, it was fun and that's what life was all about for me back then. I never bought any albums by these bands though because I figured there would be one or two good songs and the rest would be awful. I was concerned about that when I bought this cd ("Starfish") recently but how wrong I was.

This is very much a guitar album with those duo guitars offering up these melodies that jangle and echo. Lots of atmosphere and space here. Then we get Kilby's reserved vocals singing these great lyrics. It was the song "Under The Milky Way" that caused me to buy this record in the first place, it just brings back such great memories of the early eighties, and even though it was released much later (1988) it has that "sound" from what was on the radio back then.1980 was such a great year for me, the Trans Am I had bought the year before was done (jacked up, wide rear tires, Crager rims, upgraded stereo) and I just started going out with the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in June of that year.That reminds me of the title of that OCEANSIZE song "Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs", I couldn't believe that she would go out with me. Anyway back then it was all about this green eyed blonde, drugs, music and my car with the Hurst 4 speed shifter. Had to get that in (haha). We would just drive the beaches back then listening to tunes. Anyway the music here by these Australians is very much what i'd call beach music. Just everything about it makes me yearn for those days even though I wouldn't trade my family for any of it. It's hard to explain really.

"Destination" has such a dreamy and lush sound to it, very much a feel good song for me. A top three track too. As is of course "Under The Milky Way". Water just rises to my eyes just about everytime I hear this. Some things can't be explained but when I hear this i'm back in 1980 in my spirit. Just a gorgeous track with that strummed guitar and those almost spoken vocals. "Blood Money" has a great mood to it. It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes. Love the guitar after 2 minutes. "Lost" just trips along with these incredible lyrics. Great tune. "North, South, East And West" has this really good sounding guitar to open that jangles and echoes. Another favourite for me. "Spark" is the most uptempo and energetic of the lot. "Antenna" opens with more amazing guitar that seems to fill the air. Some mandolin too 2 minutes in. "Reptile" is the other top three. I just can't get enough of these guitar sounds. Beautiful track. "A New Season" is another feel good song. The vocals and guitars seem to blend together to create a haze of pleasure. "Hotel Womb" has a Post-Rock vibe to it. Check out the guitar after 3 1/2 minutes and the drums are very prominant here.

This was like a trip down memory lane even though I never took This trip before. I'm sure this all makes perfect sense.