Sometimes in the morning a strange thing happens to me – I look in the mirror and don’t hurry to avert my gaze. The hair is not perfect, the coffee overflows over the edge, but instead of the usual “what a look” suddenly something quiet and a little surprised: “Not bad. Really, not bad at all.” It is exactly this fleeting feeling – bold, honest, a bit self-loving – that the Texans from STARFLAKE turned into a dazzling neon. The psychedelic dance quintet from Austin, founded by frontman Jackie O’Brien, named their new track bluntly: “I Would Fuck Myself.”
Ben Nelson gave the track a body – an electro-funk groove, elastic and alive. O’Brien returned the vocals a few hours later: quickly, precisely, without excess. Alex Holeman sprinkled some samples on top and twisted the drums so that all of it began to feel a bit like a dream – good, strange, one you don’t want to wake up from. The dance piece makes even those move who deliberately ignore dance floors. Jackie O’Brien, known for his serious approach in The Bright Light Social Hour, transforms here. He feels like the winner of the universe and intends to convince everyone within a ten-meter radius of that. Comparing himself to a stripper from Tampa Bay is slightly absurd, but in the context of the track it sounds like absolute truth. The rhythm section deserves special attention. Zac Catanzaro and Juan Alfredo Ríos add liveliness to the digital frame of the song – the programmed groove transforms into a living, pulsating organism. The boldness with which the band exploits Tyler’s ideas fascinates with its lack of falseness. STARFLAKE elevate the “indecent” to an absolute – the right to be in love with one’s own persona without regard for social norms.
When O’Brien sings that he steals time from eternity, it sounds like an ironic tribute to himself. The band has found a fine line where shock meets sincerity. I would say narcissism that looks like the most effective defense against surrounding chaos. The visual accompaniment from Hermano Sisters Films finally brings the audio manifesto to a surrealistic carnival. The clip matches the mood of the track; the listener receives one of the strangest and most captivating works of the year.
STARFLAKE clearly are not going to play by the rules; they offer something else: an invitation to a party where the main guest is you yourself. And, apparently, it will be hard to refuse this invitation.
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