Ringo Deathstarr

There's no escaping the moniker of this Austin, TX band; it is truly appalling. But, luckily, the sum of that god-awful pun doesn't influence the band's highly charged sound. No, that job is already taken by the Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and the Swirlies. The funny thing about Ringo Deathstarr is that while their musical framework may lack originality, they're completely carefree in their implementation. And so debut album Colour Trip is exactly what it claims: a kaleidoscopic rave-up teeming with melody and cacophony. Borrowing from MBV's discombobulating sonic prowess, the JAMC's seamless fusion of '60s pop hooks and screeching noise, and the Swirlies' bewildering experimentations, they've devised a sound that's easily one of the most well-rounded amalgamations to come from the shoegaze renaissance. Most of Colour Trip draws from that well of inspiration. However, "Weekend Dudes" is actually a straight-up rocker that's as slack as its title, clouded with tremendous overdrive, "Chloe" is more in line with boy/girl harmonies, dripping the jangle and hasty tempos of mid-'80s indie pop, while "Other Things" comes off more like Kevin Shields in the studio, had he been asked to work on Screamadelica. Ringo Deathstarr may rub some wrong as yet another lampooning of the scene that celebrated itself, but Colour Trip is as close to reliving those salad days as possible, days when Creation and 4AD owned the UK indie charts. But, really, a name change is recommended in order to avoid becoming the next Dread Zeppelin.