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Although they’re a brand new band, all the members of the Starlings have been around for a while, and it shows in the craft and skill they bring to their debut album. Reminiscent of a lighter, more rural Union Station, they major on the playing of Mick Chegwidden (mandolin, banjo,dobro) and the singing and writing of Joy Mills. Mills has a clear, light voice that can swing as sweetly as a nut, but also take on heavier, more intense songs like “Alaskan Fire”. She has a way with arresting images, whether it’s “the darkness and the tiny little lights/where all the holy ghosts are born” (Alaskan Fire) or a more personal line like “Well, both my hands start trembling when I lose my grace” (Roll On Down). Mainly though she brings a fresh and unaided take to classic subjects, and in a world overpopulated with the world-weary, been there, done that, wrote the song school that’s a blessed relief.
Meanwhile Chegwidden drives the music along with furious but unflashy licks, particularly on mandolin, while everyone else rolls along with the effortless skill born of long experience, but as with Mills writing, sounding fresh, airy and like they’re having fun. There are melodies galore, choruses you can sing and a great vibe throughout. The one slightly jarring note is sounded by their cover of “Long Black Veil”, which is not a song that plays to their strengths, and they never really get into the guts or emotion of it. But that’s the only blemish on what is an excellent album.
Reviewers Rating: 7 out of 10
Website:
http://www.americana-uk.com/auk/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=1824 - Americana UK - Jeremy Searle
Simply put, fans of the Americana genre will be interested in hearing The Starlings debut Songbook. Based out of Seattle, this five-piece expertly blends folk and country, displaying top-notch musicianship at every turn. Songbook is filled with harmonies, flourishes of dobro and mandolin, rolling banjo's, and a nice mix of front-porch foot stomping and back-room balladry.
"Tell me a story..." are the words that open the CD, and indeed main vocalist and primary songwriter Joy Mills has a way of offering a tale that is often poetic, but in an accessible way, steeped in language and subject matter that is familiar to the genre. Vocalist/guitarist Tom Parker contributes two of his songs as well.
Mills does have the kind of voice that can carry an entire CD, at times taking little melodic leaps that create some excitement in the choruses, but there are plenty of backing vocals to lend support. Central in this regard is the harmony between Mills and Parker, but there is also some three-part from drummer Aimee Zoe Tubbs and group-style singalongs. The harmonies are effective and enhance the overall effort, especially on the songs where Parker is the lead vocalist, though not quite at the goose-bump level (though the Parker written Acorn comes close).
With the exception of the somber Sinner's Glory, the middle of the CD seems somewhat ordinary, though still musical and well-performed; mostly because the first four or five tunes are so colorful and arresting. The disc ends strong, with a fine cover of Long Black Veil, the rousing desire of Travelin' and the pretty, duet closer Acorn.
http://musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/00001114.html
- Muses Muse, Kevin Zarnett
If you’re a fan of Neko Case’s clear voice and Americana-tinged folk-pop, you won’t want to miss the Starlings.
This Seattle four-piece revolves around the gorgeous vocals of lead singer Joy Mills, who conveys the same clear, soaring emotion and heart-tugging talent of Ms. Case.
While Case has traded twangst in favor of pop over the past few years, the Starlings continue to flourish in heartland-inspired, banjo-inflected territory.
– Barbara Mitchell
- Portland Tribune (March 2007)
“The Starlings hark back to an earlier, simpler time, when folks gathered on front porches with mandolins and harmonicas, singing away the day in dusty twilight. That simple beauty pervades the band’s stellar debut album, “Songbook,” and that easygoing camaraderie personifies the Starlings’ live performances, which find them equally at home playing barnburners and ballads and have made them favorites among Seattle’s twang community.” - Portland Tribune (August 2006)
“Organic country…both delicate and edgy… For the lo-fi country enthusiast, the Starlings’ natural charm and raw potential, like the Starlings themselves, are a winning combination. Highly recommended.” - Maverick Magazine (July 2006)
“…fresh and full of brio…(Joy) Mills, one of the best songwriters in the Northwest (or anywhere)… an excellent, vital record.”
- Victory Review (June 2006)
"The Starlings vocal harmonies, acoustic goodness and sweet blend of folk and country set the stage for the band's storied original songwriting and the compelling presence of vocalist Joy Mills.” -KEXP.org, 90.3 FM
- KEXP.org (July 2006)
[6.20.06]
The music perpetrated by the Starlings on their fine debut Songbook is played and sung honestly enough to qualify as authentic roots or alt-country (whatever the hell that means). The lack of extended solos and the quality of the writing give the dozen original songs a pop accessibility that should expand Joy Mills and company’s audience far beyond their native Seattle.
On the opening track, “Hand to Mouth,” Mills describes a bad situation while adding a note of hope. The uptempo song features some excellent harmonica work by Tom Parker. Overtly poetic lyrics are evident in “Bones to Ashes” — “Do you want to sleep in the cold ground?” — but the tune works thanks to some tasty harmony singing. The dark lyrics of “Alaskan Fire” are offset by Mills’s pleasant voice.
Occasional lead singer Parker lends a near-perfect weariness to his “Workin’ Man Blues.” “They break their backs for less than eighty bucks a day” is an old sentiment, but unfortunately, one that is relevant today. “Gold Dust” shows the Starlings as anything but mountain music purists, adding hand claps, drums, and (my favorite) “ooh-ooh” choruses. The mid-tempo “Take Me to the Fire” is performed with such flair that Mills’s lyrics “Who’m I fooling / I’m just saving all my wishes for a day that hasn’t come yet” fail to come off as a total downer.
Mills sings about fire quite a bit, and that’s what the Starlings display throughout Songbook. They have a classic sound — good playing by all in the service of first-rate songs. “Roll on Down” boasts some interesting phrasing by Mills — as a singer, she is hardly a showoff, but she has this neat trick of ending a line here and there with a seemingly effortless high note. She also handles some difficult subject matter on the slow “Angel to Rise.” It’s one of her loveliest vocals.
The sole cover song is “Long Black Veil,” familiar to fans of Lefty Frizzell and Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison album, not to mention the hundreds of other artists who have recorded it. The Starlings’s 3/4 rendition passes my new band test — they take a well-worn classic and actually make it sound fresh. Mick Chegwidden contributes some hot mandolin playing to “Travelin’” — if it isn’t the group’s closing number in live performances, it damn well should be. Parker ends the disc with the slightly spiritual “Acorn.” If Mills runs low on material next time out, she can always let her bandmate write and sing a few more. But I don’t see that happening.
http://cdreviews.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1361&Itemid=27
- cdreviews.com
The nucleus of this folksy, bluegrass infused Americana combo is the duo of Joy Mills (guitar, mandolin) and Tom Parker (guitar, harmonica). The engaging Mills sounds a bit like Kelly Willis on a folk binge, while Parker's plaintive, mellow voice warms the many harmonies with a most pleasing effect. The supporting players tastefully add dobro, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, etc., keeping a lively feel throughout. Songbook offers 12 earnest and organic original tunes - most of which penned by Mills - and a straight version of the classic "Long Black Veil", on which the two duet. Capturing the ageless quality of The Carter Family, as in the two Parker penned duets, "Workin' Man Blues" and "Acorn," The Starlings clearly have a deep appreciation for the classics but are by no means a retro act. Simply a terrific one. -- Robinson, Miles Of Music (self-released)
http://store.milesofmusic.com/Compact_Discs/Starlings/38904.html - Miles of Music
“The spirits of Mother Maybelle Carter, Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck are alive and well in "Songbook," a spectacular Americana album by The Starlings. So rich are the harmonies, so honest is the songwriting, so organic is lead singer Joy Mills' timbre that you can practically feel the heat from the wood burning stove and smell the coffee brewing on top of it."
-Michael Swanger, Des Moines City View 5/24/07 - Des Moines City View
Discography
"Gravity" (EP) released in August 2009, with a Winter Tour through the West planned for December.
"Marveling the While" released March 18, 2008, followed by a 6-month national tour, with appearances across the country, an extended residency on the east coast from June-August, performances at notable venues such as Club Passim in Boston, and an appearance at the Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival in October. Spent 17 weeks on Roots Music Report Charts, extensive airplay nationwide; debuted at #8 on the Euro-Americana charts, airplay in England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Australia. Selected as a Notable Northwest release by KBCS's Americana Music Director, Christine Linde. Also selected for the track "Bluebird" on the Best of 2008 by the radio show The Miller Tells Her Tale out of the UK.
"Songbook" released March 2006; receiving airplay in Seattle, Massachusetts, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Idaho, California and Oregon. Also receiving airplay in Europe (The Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Ireland).
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Bio
"It's rootsy music with a simple beauty. It's a Seattle band with a small-town aura...Mills' timeless, gorgeous voice is the driving force behind the Starlings' twangy serenity. Her husband, singer-guitarist Tom Parker, is no slouch, either. When the two harmonize as a banjo gets plucked in the background, it's a truly wonderful blend." - Idaho Statesman
“Seattle’s Starlings second album is that 'ava raris,' a work that has the musical development so beloved of critics and reviewers, while retaining the sound and style of their debut to keep fans who know what they like happy...it is truly marvelous music.” – Americana UK
“Wow...one of the most talented and engaging groups in the Northwest...they display a maturity and facility whereby the songwriting, the musicianship, and the arrangements strike deep at the emotional and musicial subconscious.”
– Victory Review
After their 6-month national tour in 2008, The Starlings returned to Seattle in 2009 and recorded an EP, "Gravity," featuring 7 songs, 3 of which will appear on their 2010 full-length release. They've captured the ears of fans both in the Northwest and beyond. The 2008 release of their sophomore album, “Marveling the While” spent 17 weeks on the Roots Music Report Chart, and debuted at #8 on the Euro-Americana chart. "MTW" followed their successful 2006 release of debut album "Songbook." They've received accolades from notable sources as Maverick Magazine and Americana UK; spent eight weeks on John Richards' (KEXP) "Top Ten Northwest Bands"; and shared prominent performances with the likes of Todd Snider, The Avett Brothers, Eilen Jewell, The Wood Brothers, Shannon McNally, Hoots & Hellmouth and numerous regional artists.
After much touring and performing, they've come
to be known for their wonder-spun refrains and harmonies. Their approach is contemporary and inventive, inspired by the
classics of country, folk and roots music. Guitar, banjo, harmonica, mandolin and drums take us through elemental themes that create The Starlings' solid repertoire. From a pin-dropping ballad to a foot-stomping barnburner, their images linger – empty boxcars,twilight on the prairie, divining rods, river beds, and the long drive home.
"Marveling the While" (2008) features the soulful and sparkly vocals that fans recognize, and features guests appearances from Mike Grigoni (Willy Mason, Peter Rowan, Chris Stuart and Backcountry), Lauryn Shapter, and Chad Hinman (producer). With a title inspired by the literary works of John Steinbeck, “Marveling the While” explores themes of time and duality, opening with the powerful track, “Love and War”, the bitter sweetness of life in “Silver Thread,” a tribute to a gypsy mother in “Geraldine,” and the spooky, panoramic montage of “Honey Creek.” The Starlings raise the bar in this production, reaching a new pinnacle with their use of metaphor, harmonies, and dynamics.
"Songbook" covers a wide terrain of folk and Americana landscapes including the homage paid to elders in the opening track, "Hand to Mouth," and the wanderer's story in "Alaskan Fire."
Joy Mills hails from the hinterlands of Iowa, where an urge to write slow-burned its way, and finally surfaced, in her college years. Upon moving to Seattle in 1999, she began performing live, joined forces with partner Tom Parker, and produced her first solo LP, Rabblerouser. Mills and Parker have been steadily gaining attention around Seattle for their compelling harmonies and songwriting, which eventually led them to realize their next step up Mt. Fuji - bringing their work to a band format. Mills' songwriting infuses a lyrical and lucid quality that digs deep and harvests a more elusive meaning - all the while showcasing the hooks and refrains that keep fans singing along. Mills also pursues her other passion of writing fiction, pulling inspirations for both forms from a variety of musical genres and a polite handful of her influences: Greg Brown, Patty Griffin, Neko Case, old-time dirges, Lily Tomlin, Steve Martin, the Short Story, and the irresistible act of Observation.
Tom Parker is the One Who Can when it comes to blending and arranging harmonies, and blowing on that harp. Reared in the Pacific Northwest by various chorus backgrounds, he moved around musically among folk, classical, jazz and grunge incarnations. With chameleon-like perception, his voice and harmonica playing add the richness and texture any musician could hope for in their cache. His songwriting is crafted from a diverse background with songs that unearth both the hard and soft edges of life. Tom brings to the group over fifteen years of versatility, style, and heart, and can also be seen in the country trio The Pennylifters.
Aimee Zoe Tubbs is a drummer, musician and teacher. In search of good music, strong coffee and clean air, her personal journey has taken her from Iowa City to Seattle, via Boston. An accomplished percussionist, singer and pianist, she
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