Born of the Stars – Born of the Stars (2012)

As the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Michael Kushner, today we have Born of the Stars and their/his self-titled EP. Mixing elements of Progressive Metal, Alternative Rock and Post-Rock, the ‘band’ manages to craft very emotional and melancholic songs that are actually very appealing and engaging.

Opening with powerful Groove Metal-style guitar riffs, “One Day” immediately morphs into a more melodic and diverse track. Michael delivers a solid vocal performance, but we are more surprise on the quality of the instrumentation behind the song. Particularly the drums are quite good, which are usually the pitfall of one-man bands, and most of the time sound like very evidently programmed ‘robotic’ track.

The cool electronic elements of “Awaiting” give this melancholic song a very playful and interesting element that is greatly complemented by the vocals and keyboards. The best song of this release comes under the name of “A Change In You”, a true rollercoaster experience that is full of cool drum patters, solid riffs and very effective vocal lines. This song is a bit more on the ‘alternative’ side, and we sure hope to hear it one day on the ‘regular’ radio.

For a 5 song release, this EP is quite the presentation card for Born of the Stars. We are pleasantly surprise with the quality of the music and production found in this EP and hopefully will get the band noticed by labels. If you are looking for melancholic music that borders between the dreamy and ethereal realms of Post-Rock and the more commercial side of alternative rock, this is one release you should not miss.

Release: October 2012

Genre: AlternativeRock / Post-Rock

Country: USA