"love potions" by starbenders

If you want a real taste of what up and coming band Starbenders is all about, watch the recording of their set at the Fonda in Los Angeles last year. You will be instantly transported into the sweaty pit of what can only be called a true rock n’ roll show. Ferocious frontwoman Kimi Shelter packs the vocal punch of early scene, the stage presence of Lita Ford circa “Kiss Me Deadly,” and the grim and gawk-worthy aesthetic of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She screams at the audience to “make some motherfuckin’ noise” before wailing away on her guitar. Guitarist Kriss Tokaji looks not unlike a Viking risen from the sea, shirtless and strutting around, long hair falling in front of his face, with bassist Aaron Lecense following suit in a red leotard. From behind her kit, drummer Emily Moon is having the time of her life, sporting a Suzi Quatro style haircut and one of the biggest smiles I’ve seen on a musician’s face in a long time. Between their stage presence and sound—moving from pop to punk to rock at lightning speed—the video teeters on the edge of a sensory overload.

Starbenders, the four-piece, alt-glam punk band in question, are from Atlanta, or so they say. Take one look at the group and you’re sure to have a different origin story in mind. Perhaps they crawled out of the dark halls of a crypt, coming up for sunlight after centuries away. Maybe they’ve risen from the depths of MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball, a long lost 80’s hair band finally getting the recognition they deserve. Whatever you decide, Starbenders is here and fully present nonetheless. Following their signing to renowned indie label Sumerian Records (home to acts like Asking Alexandria and Black Veil Brides) and the release of their debut album Heavy Petting in 2016, the band has slowly been creeping into the spotlight around Georgia and beyond. Love Potions, their long-awaited sophomore LP, arrived on February 14. It will lure you in. It might just steal your soul. It will gnaw at your heart and spit it back out in no time.

From the beginning, Starbenders have made it clear that they refuse to be contained. “As soon as people think they’ve got us figured out, we change it up again.” Shelter admits in a recent press release. With so many modern bands trying to bring back the vintage vibe (see Steel Panther or Greta Van Fleet), the act feels like an unnecessary blast from the past, no matter how exaggerated it aims to be. Love Potions, though, intrigues rather than expels. Opener “Hangin’ On Tonight” slowly leads us into this weird and wonderful world that the band has conjured. “Something Ain’t Right” sounds like it would be right at home on a setlist at CBGB’s circa 1979, while “Hangin’ On Tonight” flings us into 70’s dark rock. “Precious,” featuring Remington Leith of Payale Royale, is sure to have any lover of emo clinging religiously. Leith turns the track into a redemption, the desperation dripping from every syllable.

These are songs that you can both bang your head to and burrow deep within. “Bitches Be Witches” starts softly, literary lyrics forming an entire story within the song. Images of angels and demons fighting for a place fill your mind as the bridge builds; a battle for morality that transcends mere music. There is also a consciousness about sticking up for yourself and not letting anybody step all over you. “Can’t Cheat Time,” the album’s biggest earworm, is a ballad complete with an intense guitar solo and a sauntering string section. It feels like the most honest track, Shelter’s final scream ringing deep within your bones, her mantra rising to the surface. You can’t escape the days that keep coming. You have to keep moving forward. As Shelters expressed at that LA show, "Sometimes we can feel really alone in this world. They want you to think you're alone, they want you to think that you're not important. But I'm telling you, you're not fucking alone and you are important.” In a way, this is what this record, and Starbenders, is all about.

Love Potions may or may not be the record that converts you to the dark side. It is a wild ride from beginning to end, style and key changes seeming to happen at a breakneck speed. Peer underneath the surface, though, and you will find a band that is paving their own road their own way. Love Potions will have fans debating whether to fall victim to Starbenders’ enchanting aura. My advice? Go willingly. There’s no way you’ll want to return to the real world afterward anyway.

Stream the album here.

Words by Carly.