This Big Apple quartet may not be breaking any new ground, but they don’t seem especially anxious about their influences either, preferring instead to back lead singer Jason Lewis’ vivid, heartbroke songwriting with unpretentious, old-school country-rock. At a time when the cultural climate would have one believe that alt.country is passé, Star City argues that a smart mix of guitar crush and country melodies can still open up fertile emotional terrain.
Recording with Albert Caiati (Blue Mountain, Bottle Rockets), Star City foregrounds guitarist David Chernis’ huge, overloading valve tone and an able rhythm section of Todd Nicholson and Nancy Polstein, who shift between the bluegrass-rocker “Spruce Knob” and the moody country noir of “Fruit Of The Forbidden Tree” — the latter of which starts out as a “Night Life” stroll before breaking into a Replacements-like guitar wipe-out.
The album’s opener, “Kissed A Girl”, feels like a faithful homage to the piano and fuzz guitar of Hollywood Town Hall-era Jayhawks and features a fine lyrical hook: “I think I kissed a girl in the neon bar light last night/I think I kissed her, thinking that she was you.”
Lewis’ deep, craggy voice might remind listeners of Jay Farrar, even if his control and range are considerably smoother and frequently wilder. If his songwriting shows room for growth, there’s also lots to savor. “Green Grass Blue” memorably captures the demise of a relationship in a single image: “Carrying a box full of records I don’t want to hear anymore.”
And Lewis’ best song, “Ring Of Silver”, needs only guitar, accordion, and the dark, secretive whispering of its chorus — “Please won’t you wear this ring of silver/There was no gold or diamond I could afford” — to turn a vulnerable plea into an emotional truth.
