Artist:

stellastarr* 

Label: Bloated Wife Records

1. “Robot”  B-

2. “Freak Out” A

3. “Tokyo Sky” B

4. “Numbers” B-

5. “Graffiti Eyes” A-

6. “Prom Zombie” B-

7. “Warchild” A

8. “People” B+

9. “Move On” B+

10. “Sonja Cries” A-

Comments:  After their last album Harmonies for the Haunted that spawned the hit single “Sweet Troubled Soul” the band stellastarr* (sometimes just referred to as Stellastarr) took to their own label Bloated Wife Records (named after a hidden track on Harmonies for the Haunted) after leaving RCA Records, and in 2009 came up with the album Civilized.  While not nearly as polished as their previous efforts and nothing is produced that was as marketable as “Sweet Troubled Soul”, major improvements has been made.  Most notably, Bassist and back up vocalist Amanda Tannen is used much more frequently and more efficiently, then in previous efforts.  Secondly, guitarist and lead singer Shawn Christensen sounds much more relaxed and comfortable on this album.  Lastly stellastarr has become much better song writers and crafters, previous efforts has really been hit and miss (although when they hit, their really good), like I said nothing measures up to “Sweet Troubled Soul” or even “My Coco”, but overall the album is much more consistent.   The album starts off with a good effort sung entirely by Amanda on “Robot” and comes close to their best work with “Freak Out”.  From then out its one solid song after another that will please any hipster, which eventually peaks with the song “Warchild”.  The album winds down after that ending on a strong note with “Sonja Cries”.  Overall the album isn’t a game changer for music, the post punk genre, or even the band, it just happens to be a solid effort, from a band who has shown sparks of greatness, but has not shown us what they can do.  But after listening to this album a few times, I have hope that maybe one day they can craft that masterpiece that they always been hinting at but never delivered on, yet.

 Grade: B- (82/100)