Starlight Mints: Change Remains

Starlight Mints: Change Remains Norman, OK indie pop group, the Starlight Mints release their fourth album, Change Remains via Barsuk Records. The band has long been noted for their unique sense of pop music. Call it psych-pop, indie pop, or whatever, Starlight Mints know how to write weird, catchy songs. The album's first single "Zoomba" is a perfect example of this. The track starts with African drumming and ambient noises, before a solid bass line, raw drums, and horns kick in. The band finishes the track off with a hard rock, blues-inspired guitar riff. Not a traditional sounding pop track, but the falsetto-vocals make the track a real winner. If you squint your ears enough, the introduction to "Black Champagne" sounds like the Cure's "Just Like Heaven". But "Black Champagne" ends up sounding much more like the Flaming Lips than the Cure, with a great quirky chorus. Fortunately with all the experimental pop going on in Change Remains, not many tracks get too weird. "Natural" is an industrial inspired jam complete with distorted vocals, but the track is a little out of the Mints range. That is one of the few tracks that really doesn't work on the album. Overall, the album stands up remarkably well. I would have to go back and listen to the Mints sophomore release Built on Squares, but I venture to say that Change Remains is their best album yet. Rating: 7.8/10 MP3: Starlight Mints "Black Champagne" Buy: iTunes