Not to be confused with Scandinavian band Costar, CO-STAR (with that all important hyphen) are a blues/pop outfit fronted by self-confessed Dietrich/Minelli devotee Nikki Brooks.
Fortunately the men on guitar, bass and drum are more than just “Sleeper blokes”, concocting a palatable pop-inspired fusion of old school R ‘n’ B and Blues and providing a fitting backdrop to Ms. Brooks highly attractive and fulsome warblings. Despite her preferences for out and out “torch chanteuses” she sounds far more classic rock ‘n’ roll. Her voice is ideally suited to the music, mixing PJ Harvey’s archness with Neko Case’s wallop and Debbie Harry’s sultry caress: all of which bodes well for the long-term future.
On this three track demo the band sounds like they’ve struck gold with their musical brand. Producer Julian Standen, who’s worked with The Smiths and The Lemonheads, seems to have found the keys to unlock the commercial value of CO-STAR’s set-up.
‘Killer Love’ kicks off the account, shining a bright light into the typical murk of swamp blues and revealing its cross-over potential into mainstream pop: like PJ Harvey and Jon Spencer sitting down and consciously trying to write a ‘hit’. ‘Strange Days’ continues the trend but adds some Stray Cats and Golden Earrings ‘Radar Love’ and is equally effective and addictive with a wonderful bass driven chorus. ‘Here She Comes’ is less successful, losing some of the rhythmic edge and slipping back into an indie/Blondie hybrid that is still good but pales in comparison to the previous two tracks.
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Bags of potential then and a demo that contains enough firm evidence of a band with a sound that could turn a few heads. One just hopes that some A&R guy doesn’t try and sell them as the new Transvision Vamp.
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