Quality #Hardrock For You: Stars in Stereo

Hard rock that doesn’t feel like it’s pandering to the masses is difficult to come by in 2014; the artistic intent behind any work is of course only known to the artists themselves, but so much of today’s hard rock certainly feels blatantly dumbed down to match a certain aesthetic.

Stars in Stereo are not one of those bands. I admit, I was skeptical — those peacock haircuts, guyliner and overabundance of man-jewelry (sorry, guys!) send off the wrong vibes — and doubly so given the fact that (full disclosure time) the band’s label reached out to us about advertising first, then pitched us on the music.

But I was proven wrong from note one. There’s just a difference with Stars in Stereo, and you’ll know it when you hear it. No, Stars in Stereo aren’t exactly reinventing the wheel, but there’s a certain smartness to the way they’ve constructed their riffs, melodies and songs — if you’re a fan of Shinedown or Sevendust you understand what I’m talking about as far as song construction and arrangements go (although I know I won’t get far with this audience using those touchstones). There’s also an incredibly appealing quality to Bec Hollcraft’s voice, namely that it doesn’t sound like what you’d expect a female vocalist for a hard rock band to sound like — it’s almost punk rock in timbre and attitude, and she’s got the pipes to make this kind of music soar.

Here’s the music video for a song they just released called “Leave Your Mark.” It’s the title track of their new album, which came out on June 17th via Hundred Handed and can be ordered here. Bonus: there’s a tarot card hidden within the video, and the first ten people to find and click on it will gain access to a special prize from the band.