Polished, infectious, and hideously
listenable, Star & Micey clue into a few little treasures on this
debut ten-tracker, though inconsistency proves to be a concern.
These Tennesseans exude the sort of youthful elegance that could
land them a spot on a Starbucks sampler some day,
particularly on sticky folk-pop romp “So Much Pain” and (guiltily)
irresistible “I Am the One She Needs,” which belongs to the suave
singer-songwriter camp occupied by Jason Mraz, Damien Rice,
et al. Elsewhere, things don't fare so well: mopey “On Your Own” is
dreadfully lethargic, and “Carly” is flatly lifeless. Later tracks
such as “Nelson” and “Quicksand” are simply average, marking a
somewhat bland end to the record; in fact, the last strong track is
the fourth to last – “Late at Night” – which is blessed with a
turgid rhythm and a delightfully alt-country-tinged, moonlight
melody. Casual listeners will dig the crisp tones and easy hooks of
this respectable record, but the weak points are tough to overlook.
