Although not mentioned in the press release, I've assumed that Star Rover are named after the Jack London Book The Star Rover and this album of mainly instrumental music is an imaginary soundtrack to a film of the book. Star Rover are Will Graefe and Jeremy Gustin with the album being produced by Jesse Harris in Long Island.
This opens with the prog jazz of The Springs that really sounds like the creaking springs of a prison bed, as the inmate whose bed it is, gets assaulted once more.
Ember Remember could easily soundtrack part of a prison break if it was on the soundtrack to a filmed version of Jack London's classic The Star Rover as it's central motif would follow the prisoners making a break for it across a muddy field hoping to evade capture by the guards.
Heart's Attack is how you feel as you have made it out of San Quentin, but are still far from safe and looking for safe harbor and to re-join your gang, as the floaty vocals tell us they maybe lost as they have never spent anytime in the area around the prison before and must make a real dash for it.
Ghosts Of New York State sees them dreaming of making it all the way from San Quentin to New York and a new life with spare vocals and an almost chamber pop feel to it.
Valse is a slow waltz across a wasteland stripped back and rather gentle. Rag Doll is a rather tense and guitar led tune of yearning and hope that you're not being used as a Rag Doll by the other prisoners and this feels like a shriek of pain for what's been done to you and the reasons why you needed to escape from San Quentin and try to get out of California.
I Changed My Name, I Changed My Face is self-explanatory as the escapee seeks to make a new life for himself with a new Identity and hopes for a new career in a new town as the chain gang percussion reminds him of what he's run away from.
Little Red Shark (For Rex) is the third song on the album, as I assume Little Red Shark was Rex's nickname and he is one of the only inmates our escapee ever felt anything for, while he was banged up and being tortured in San Quentin, the explosive part of the tune concerns some of the torture poor old Rex suffered.
The Delicate Boxer was the one inmate who was forever dishing it out but was the biggest cry baby when someone hit him back, the urgent guitars like someone trying to pummel his chest and get in a few good upper cuts.
Slight Beams can be seen in the sky and tracing the landscape on the night of the escape as they try to elude the beams of light and make it to safety and into San Rafael to start the journey to a new life if they succeed in evading the Slight Beams looking for them.
The album closes with Beyond The Pines that takes the prison theme of In The Pines and turns it almost into a hymn for a life Beyond the Pines and away from San Quentin, this has a very mid-winter feel to it.
Find out more at https://starrovermusic.com/ https://starroverband.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/starrovernyc
