The Starlights' Sound - Out Over Nothing

Music to daydream to. An ambient mix of shoegaze, deftly fingerpicked acoustic folk, and synthy soundscapes.

It's always a good day when the postman delivers a piece of vinyl to Harmonic Distortion HQ. A couple of weeks back this LP by The Starlights' Sound arrived unexpectedly. I must admit the name wasn't familiar and the sleeve held no clues to what kind of music lay within its grooves. Which is fine by me! So with an open mind and open heart I placed it on the turntable and lifted the needle into place...

What followed was most welcome; eight tracks of mostly instrumental, meditative music, somewhere between shoegaze, deftly fingerpicked acoustic folk, soundscapes and ambient music. A little digging on the web led to their Facebook page where they've described the record as “a collection of sonic environments designed to promote relaxation, visualization and lucid dreaming.” Which is pretty much spot on.

The project (that feels more apt than band) is based in San Francisco and was put together by Steve Perrone and Doug Hilsinger. Instrumentation includes guitar, bass, drums, organ and synths, but it's the addition of violin and cello that adds a reflective, melancholy edge to certain tracks. Listening to Out Over Nothing is like taking a peak into someone's private notebook. The tracks have an open-ended sketch-like quality to them as if they've been jotted down in a daydream to capture a mood rather than any specific thought. An album with a sphinx-like mystery attached to it, and all the more welcome and likable for that.

The album is available on vinyl (which is recommended!) or via the Bandcamp/Soundcloud links below. Interestingly The Starlights' Sound have made a video to accompany 'Pictures', a track from the album. I've placed the link below, find a quiet moment, shut out any distractions and enjoy.

Click here for The Starlights' Sound on Facebook.

Click here for The Starlights' Sound on Bandcamp.

Click here for The Starlights' Sound on Soundcloud.

Click here for Planet Seven Recordings.