Judd Starr
Luminescent
Thursday 30th of October 2008
Judd Starr has quite a musical pedigree with which to lead into this, his debut album. Time spent working for NBC on their show "Starting Over" as well as providing music for MTV's "The Real World" give rise to the notion that this man is no mere indie wannabe, and one listen to the debut album proves this theory to be correct.
Starr fuses college alternative rock with clever harmonies with elements of R and B and Blues to give the album quite a funky feel. Each of the opening three songs here could be hit singles in the right hands. 'Starting Over' has a chorus to die for, the more insistent 'The Letter' drives its point home nicely, while 'May 22nd' is built on a groove so strong there's a danger you'll shake your hips right off. This continues throughout the album, with nice use of a wide variety of tones and instrumentation, and swathes of country-sounding harmonies rounding the whole thing out nicely.
'Firefly', the album's centre-piece, has become something of a hit for Starr, with its video garnering more than 100,000 views on Youtube. It is certainly a song which could propel him to greater heights.
Since the release of this record, Judd Starr has completed a second album and is currently touring hard in the States. It seems fair to suggest that he will be a name to watch out for in the months to come. Here's hoping for a UK tour.
Author: Haydon S
Label: Self-Released
Found in: Record Reviews
Official Rating
We rated this record 4 out of 5.