Record Reviews: Inara George and Van Dyke Parks, Darker My Love

Also, Hawthorne Heights, the Starlite Desperation

Comments (0) By L.A. Weekly Music Critics Wednesday, Aug 27 2008

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The Starlite Desperation |Take It Personally| Infrasonic

Los Angeles trio the Starlite Desperation have accumulated a laundry list of career variations, including: label changes — GSL, Flapping Jet, Cold Sweat, Capitol; locale changes — San Francisco, Detroit, Los Angeles; band-name transformations — Starlite Desperation, Lost Kids, Spirit Army; and a lead singer whose own moniker changes just as frequently — Dante White, Dante Aliano, Dante Adrian, Dante Adrian White. But their music is consistently recognizable, mainly due to Adrian’s delicate and sophisticated vocals, which contrast and cut through Jeff Ehrenberg’s garage-punk drumming. The high timbre and loose, experimental feel of Take It Personally, their fourth, is most reminiscent of Starlite’s first album, 2001’s Show You What a Baby Won’t. Both have an on-edge intensity and reach their greatest potential with the simpler pop tracks. New songs “Spirit Army,” “My Favorite Place” and “I Love This!” accomplish much while remaining deceptively simple, invoking feelings of “Sweet Cherry Wine”–era Tommy James in Starlite’s capacity to deliver catchy, dynamic songs by working and reworking accessible pop formulas — and then throwing in a little unexpected texture to shake those formulas up. Take It Personally is a showcase for what Starlite Desperation do best — writing great garage/pop tunes that stick in your head for days and days and days.

—Rena Kosnett