The Starlight Mints
Drowaton
Barsuk Records

The Starlight Mints are a quirky indie-pop band from Norman, Oklahoma. On their past two records, The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of and Built on Squares, the Mints were able to blend their pop laden songwriting with an orchestral arrangement of strings and horns to form a sort of psychedelic, bubblegum rock. After being a big fan of these two albums, I was eager to hear what the Starlight Mints had been up to.

The first song released on their new page up at barsuk.com was the track “What’s Inside Of Me?”. This song worried me a little. Were the Mints losing their goofiness? It seemed to be a straight forward piano/guitar based song to me; no bells, no strange sound effects, no vocal distortion. Lucky for me, I did not have to wait long after that for the album to leak onto the internet, where I could get my first real taste of the new material. All of my worries were put away after listening to the first track off of Drowaton, “Pumpkin”. The song is chalk full of horns and bass, and features Allen Vest (vocals) with his wavering falsetto. The second track, “Torts”, begins with a sort of waltz sounding rhythm, but quickly changes to a more upbeat Stephen Malkmus-esque chorus. Each song on the album after that is an update to the Starlight Mints’ sound. Some feel as if they could be in the background of commercials (I would actually be proud to hear “Pearl’s (Submarine #2)” in the background of a car advertisement), while others act as nice down tempo songs, like the folk-sounding “The Killer”, and the horn laden “Sidewalk”, which helps round off another superb Mints’ album.

The new record once again draws upon the band’s unique brand of orchestral pop, which some seem to think of as “busy”, but I believe give them the originality that many artists today are lacking in. Although it might take a few listens in order for you to really get used to the album, it is worth the time in the end. The Starlight Mints have grown up a little with their sound, but fear not, they still have that goofball quirk that makes them entertaining to listen to.

MP3
Pumpkin
Inside of Me

Music Video
Inside of Me

Website
Official Starlight Mints website