Wife of God

VINYL FORMAT. On their genre-bending debut record, Wife of God, Starring discover a uniquely bombastic and exciting style of indie-psychedelia, carving out a distinct place amidst the dizzying variety of trends in Brooklyn art rock. Founded in 2008 by Pterodactyl drummer Matt Marlin and Skeleton$ keyboardist Mike Gallope and later filled out with front-woman Clara Latham of orch-pop outfit The Fancy, Amy Cimini of avant-garde collective Till By Turning, and Sam Kulik of Talibam! and Capillary Action, Starring revisits the terrain of heretofore un-cool progressive rock by stripping it of pretentious improvisations and tasteless chord changes, and distilling it to its essence - a certain fascination with complexity. Far cruder than fellow "progressive" Brooklyn bands like Battles and Extra Life, if Starring plays "prog rock" it is because they are in love with a sense of unscripted fun, looking to spit beer, exhilarate and electrify rather than indulge or show. Taking the art of excitement to the point of obsession, Starring combines the forces of farfisa, viola, guitar and bass to sculpt driving, heavy, high-speed instrumental verses that take aim at soaring, epic choruses. Beneath it all, Matt Marlin's notoriously frenzied drumming, which is as furious here as on any Pterodactyl record, propels this distortion-happy quintet from one transfixing riff to the next.