Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

What Strange Beasts — Starlight's Castaways
(Bandcamp no#, 2023, 2LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2023-05-14

Starlight's Castaways Cover art

For their second album, What Strange Beasts give us Starlight’s Castaways, which, like their debut, is a substantial concept album built of melodic, prog-inflected songs that are arranged into a dramatic sequence and bridged by (mostly) instrumental interludes. It follows the same pattern as The Maestro’s Tale, and is in the same vein stylistically as well. There are 13 songs here, with all but one in the three to six minute range (the other slips a bit over seven), and the 13 interludes (one is technically a prologue, I suppose, since it’s track 1) are all under two minutes; the total length is about 80 minutes, and it’s available as a double LP in a gatefold sleeve. Among the songs, while there are some very nice instrumental moments, the focus is generally on the vocals. Three members of the band sing, and the lead parts are complemented by some outstanding backing vocals. Most of the songs are rollicking, energetic extensions of rock ‘n’ roll, immensely catchy and bright. The lyrical subject matter isn’t always sunny, but the melodies tend to be smile-inducing. Instrumental breaks are kept brief for the most part, with a guitar melody here and a synthesizer lead there, but no improvisational sections. It’s all immaculately arranged and recorded, while managing to avoid sounding sterile or stuffy. There are no touches of edginess or dissonance, so fans of melodic progressive rock should be right at home, and there are no excursions into odd meters or metal. This sophomore album proves that What Strange Beasts is a band worthy of notice in the arena of accessible prog.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): What Strange Beasts

More info
http://whatstrangebeasts.bandcamp.com/album/starlights-castaways

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.