Well, the 500 double LPs are gone already, I see from the Beast Records website.
Which isn’t surprising, because if there’s a band who should stay on vinyl, it’s Movie Star Junkies.
This release has all of their singles “From Dolls Come In” to “Everything is Holy” - including the B-sides and split singles - in the one spot. You can always tell a boring band when their singles don’t do much for you. The single, for those who might have forgotten, is always intended to be a slice of music and song which rips at you, doesn’t give you any let-up.
Rock ’n’ roll frequently forgets to be loud, boastful, clumsy, confident, emotional. All that fun, scary stuff. Singles should have this in spades. And then, the gap where you have to get up to remove the needle and flip it over - that gives you a moment’s pause for reflection.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Movie Star Junkies, they’re an Italian band with the most extraordinary approach, almost unmusical. Curiously, the music itself is literate, steeped in lineage and smart as paint. Also, bloody funny, and captivating. A bit like a drunk stranger you can’t understand dragging you onto the dance floor. It’s full-on, original, chaotic, moving. It’s a very Vodka kinda evening.
Dance? You’ll find yourself raging round the house, spilling lighter fluid and accidentally setting fire to the cat - and the Fire Brigade will come in and dance too. All by the third song. Humour rises off these songs like the reek of burned cat hair, “Flamingo” and “I Love You More As Dead” are my own favourites (getting your own will be easy).
There’s a lot of the garage to Movie Star Junkies, but you don’t give two poops about that. Carefully constructed musical pieces are tromped all over by an often incoherent singer who frankly sounds as if he’s escaped from somewhere. If they weren’t so gleefully obnoxious they’d be making real music, and you know what that means. They stink of vinyl, snot, piss and chemicals; use them to annoy people who profess to like real music.
