Starstruck
Rum Bar, 2024
10/10
An outfit who made quite a dent in the ‘70s, The Hollyward Stars treat us to their first album of new material in over 4 decades, where Scott Phares, Terry Rae, Michael Rummans, Jeff Jourard and George Keller flesh out garage rock and punk fueled tunes.
The slight jangle of “Can’t Do It Right” opens with Phares’ soaring pipes amid Rae’s crisp drumming for the instant sing-along, while “Taxi Drummer” thumps with hand clapping fun that brings grit and melody to some proto-punk ideas.
Moving deeper into the 15 tracks, “This Merry-Go-Round” benefits much from Rummans’ meticulous bass via the more cautious moment, while the driving guitars of “Sleeping Giant” welcome big riffs and shouted vocals for an anthemic album highlight.
Further still, the rugged “Shortage Of Love” is quite emotive and by far the longest song, thought it doesn’t out welcome its stay, and the extended version of “Revenge” exits with drumming acrobatics, bouncy bass and raw guitar work thanks to Jourard and Keller for the thick and energetic finish.
The history of The Hollywood Stars is significant; they toured with The Kinks and played alongside New York Dolls and Ramones in the ‘70s. Though they disbanded in 1978, they reformed in 2018 for a benefit that set the wheels in motion for this comeback album that serves their legacy well.
Travels well with: Ellen Foley- Fighting Words; Tenant From Zero- Flight