ALEO are a two piece featuring a drummer and guitarist/vocalist. I can't really find any information about them online but it hardly matters, they are terrible. They sound like a garage band that should have stayed in the garage. They are a real mix of rock styles but none of them are good. The guitars are discordant and grungy with a punk edge but the vocals are completely different, putting them more in a nu metal territory. They sound like System Of A Down without the ambition or professionalism. The individual parts don't seem to transition well into the next ones. They sound like an amateur version of all the bands I hated in the 90s. The guitar tone has a nice Big Business style sound but the rest is an awful pop punk/nu metal style mash up.
Starbenders start off with a punkish rock and roll style verse which is reminiscent of Amyl And The Sniffers, and a glam stomping chorus. 'Holy Mother' is cool as you like, pop rock. Imagine if The Bangles had grown up on the Sunset Strip. 'BITCHES BE WITCHES' is like a dark, occult Bangles too. It's all very cool but that's the problem, it comes across more as aloof when it should be incendiary. 'Marianne' sounds like it could have been an 80s Billy Idol tune. Starbenders sound like a band that could have happily hung out with The Lost Boys, and their music wouldn't have sounded out of place on the soundtrack either. 'Cover Me' is seductive like prime Stevie Nicks, and features some excellent bass work, and a neat guitar solo. Things start to heat up a little during 'Body Talk'. 'Never Lie 2 Me' is beguiling, and showcases some rock and roll showmanship with some neat spins from singer/guitarist Kimi Shelter. Unfortunately though, despite the good (and the 80s vibe is something I love), tonight never really catches fire.
Starbenders ***
ALEO *
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