Carrying with it all the mystique and sleek glamour of some shadowy spy movie romance, Starlings' new single Dark Arts is a bewildering medley of sheer synth joy.
Like Duran Duran colliding head-long with New Order via a good chunk of Inner City's Good Life, the latest track from Sheffield's brightest upcoming group sees them putting on their dancing shoes.
It's a re-envisioning of classic Hacienda trippy-ness and three singles in, Starlings are still displaying a charmed ear for perfect pop melodies and lush synth backdrops.
There's a kind of lusty fire to lines like 'poison arrow through my heart' that drives Dark Arts with unnerving accuracy and precision - with every single Starlings have grown in confidence.
The accompanying cover art is equally glossy; all firey oranges and rich purples that seem born of the same enchanting power that burns at the heart of the song.
With NME, Q and the Guardian all lining up to hail Starlings as ones to watch this year, the hype is building fast. One thing's for sure, when it comes to Dark Arts, Starlings have us well and truly bewitched.
This week sees Sheffield's finest, Starlings, releasing their new single 'Sirens' - the follow-up to debut track 'Weight In Gold', it sees them bringing New Wave back to Britain with a bang. I caught up with the band as they share their thoughts on the eighties, songwriting and living the rock and roll lifestyle on tour.
Your sound is very 80s influenced – do you have a favorite track from the 80s?
The 80s was a remarkable decade for music, one which I don’t think will ever be beaten for innovation. If I had to pick one favorite track at the moment, it would be The Rainbow from Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden album. It is constantly on repeat on my iPod. It gives me shivers. To be fair I could have picked any track from Talk Talk's back catalogue. Talk Talk were the ultimate balearic rock band and they are an indelible influence on our own balearic sound. Mark Hollis is a genius!
How did it feel the first time your track was played on BBC radio?
Getting BBC radio play still carries great kudos, even in the internet age, and it is an important milestone which all up and coming bands look to pass. We were naturally over the moon when we got our first BBC radio play. Like any quality exposure, it leaves you wanting more. It also has the effect of reinforcing your internally held beliefs and on some level makes you realise that you probably are as good as you think you are.
Do you think the music scene is a friendly place for new bands to launch into at the moment or is it too competitive/crowded?
I think the music scene at grass roots/local level can be a fairly friendly place to be. There have never been more opportunities for bands to get their music instantly heard and there have never been more places to play on the live circuit. Perhaps the effect of this is that the scene has become saturated with average acts big on bluster but lacking in substance and songs. This makes it harder for the really good new bands to get their heads above the parapet. But I'm a firm believer that the good will out.
You talk about your hometown of Sheffield being important to your sound – are there any specific approaches you take when it comes to writing songs?
Sheffield's electronic music heritage has had an important influence on our sound. The handful of bands I’ve been in have always used synthesised elements and I think a lot of that can be out down to the osmotic effects that electronically minded acts like Heaven 17, ABC, Cabaret Voltaire and the Warp record label have on those that grow up in the Steel City. Sheffield still has a bit of an Artic Monkey's guitar group hangover, which has pushed us further away from six strings towards more synths and samples. All elements together, Sheffield has moulded our identity and sound.
Nearly all of our songs start as chords on a guitar or a piano, to which we stitch a vocal melody. We then get the right synth sounds, before exporting the embryonic idea to the practice room where we add the bass guitar and drums to the mix, before layering up any drum loops and electronic samples. The lyrics come last.
How is the whole touring around the country experience treating you? Does it live up to the classic ‘rock and roll’ stereotypes?
Living the dream. Free booze and free love. Nothing more to say. What goes on on tour, stays on tour.
You filmed your video for Sirens in the peak district – how naturally does filming a video come compared to the usual business of recording songs/playing live?
Recording a video has similarities with both recording songs and playing live. There are scenes that you have to do again and again in order to get the correct take, which is similar to time spent on pause and repeat in the studio. Then you have to mix that with the performance elements you would use in a live environment. If you're a born performer, shooting a video forms a fun part of your artiste repertoire.
What can we expect from your debut album? And do you feel the album ‘format’ is still important in an age when most people download their music?
To us, the album format is still massively important. It gives artists the opportunity to show that they have a body of work rather than being just one hit wonders. Sometimes music has to be heard in context and as part of a bigger picture, which only the album format (and perhaps playing a longer live set) can provide. Colour of Spring and Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk are perfect examples of single elements forming part of a perfect composite piece.
For our debut album, expect extended singles, super songs and a shimmering disco sheen.
The third (or is that second??) album from the global chart-topper. We've all seen the risque reaction-baiting videos and heard her anthems for self-acceptance, now get hold of a whole album of the stuff with Lady Gaga's long awaited Born This Way. And yes, if you purchase this, you too can become a strange person/bike hybrid.
The Pierces - Glorious
The third in a series of absolutely stunning singles, the Alabama sisters (with a little help from Coldplay's Guy Berryman) are back with their joyous new track Glorious. Expect breathtaking Abba-esque vocal harmonies mixed with soulful country-tinged pop. And all this with a good dose of lurid 70s psychadelica.
The Saturdays - Notorious
The UK's hottest girl group are back and they've got their sights firmly set on the top spot with this infectious club anthem. Vocodered boasts of being a 'gangster on the dancefloor' back up a sizzling bassline that seems ready-made to knock back shots to.
Starlings - Sirens
One of our favourite new bands at the moment, Starlings represent a chic, streamlined return to the heights of the 80s New Wave sound. Anthemic choruses and glossy synth rushes inject new single Sirens with a real punch that serves as a fitting introduction to this brilliant Sheffield outfit.
Welcome to the world of Jason Sieu Persad, AKA The Sanfernando Sound. The producer has been making waves recently with his slick re-works of tracks by Two Door Cinema Club, Starlings and Anoraak.
The charm of Jason's takes on the tracks is that they remain respectful of the originals - Take the What You Know mix, all the hooky guitar riffs that made the song such an immense radio hit remain, now added to surging waves of static and funky synth basslines.
The over-riding sound is telling of The Sanfernado Sound's chief influences - Jason cites Tears For Fears, Pet Shop Boys, Blancmange and New Order amongst his favourite bands, and we don't need to tell you how amazing they all are. That big, bold shine of the 80s is everywhere on these remixes; with a single click of a retro drum machine you're tipped back into a world of neon and day-glo bliss.
With support from International DJ magazine and BBC 6 Music, The Sanfernando Sound is on the rise, and just like the wave of eighties glamour it channels, it's sweeping up more and more fans wherever it goes. Time to grab your best dancing shoes and join in.
Starlings are one of my favourite new bands at the moment and ever since I covered their brilliant debut single Weight In Goldback in Novemeber last year I've been itching to hear more from them. Blasting out of Sheffield like the Human League born-again, they're now back with new track Sirens, and its every bit as epic and punchy as their previous single.
And speaking of the Human League, there's even some Don't You Want Me-esque synths thrown into the mix here plus some almost gothic sounding choral bits - all very atmospheric. And all this driven by a pulsing, dirty bassline that wouldn't sound out of place on Lady Gaga's new single.
Imagine Duran Duran's Girls on Film transposed into the 21st century, given a new lick of paint and with a brand new super-charged engine slapped on. This is exactly the kind of music the British indie scene should be making right now; exciting, innovative catchy records that shine with the passion and energy of the band behind them. Sirens makes it two stellar records in a row for Starlings and personally, I can't wait to hear the album. Keep up the good work lads.
Starlings explode onto your stereo with a blistering blend of glossy synths, Duran Duran-esque basslines and the energy to match any of their contemporaries. Weight In Gold is a stunning debut for the Sheffield based band, the track hypnotising in its beauty and the shimmering catchiness of its chorus before tripping effortlessly into a twinkling guitar solo.
Fans of New Order and Delphic will find lots to love here, but what marks Starlings out in their own right is the organic feel to their music; it feels alive, fresh, more ‘human’. The band’s Facebook page describes them as ‘cosmic indie funk’, and there really could be no more perfect description than that. All the elements are there, capturing the essence of why Starlings hold so much potential to appeal to the masses.
There is most definitely a sense of ‘spaciness’ to there songs, that feeling of a fast expanse that their music flows into, a space of unlimited potential just waiting to be tapped into. ‘It’s a long, long way to fall, when you hover above us all’: a snatch of lyrics from the chorus, and when the Starlings sound as good as this, we’re all ready to fall further and further alongside them.
