First of all, this album kicks complete ass. In an age when “punk” bands try so hard not to sound exactly like the Strokes, the Starvations offer up some raw low-fi punk. Like good punk, it perfectly walks the thin line between disorder and a tightly crafted song. That said, this is what I would call rootsy or organic punk (cow-punk if necessary). They toss in a violin and accordion a couple times and even have spiritual song. It also has an altcountry (driving accentuated backbeat) punk sound – sort of Uncle Tupelo from Still Feel Gone. Yet the overall feel is much more punk than altcountry – (the album is only 31:00). Vocally, the Starvations exhibit how closely the trend in emo vocal delivery is linked with the punk vocal tradition – think The Clash and Bright Eyes holding hands. Lyrics are not exceptional, but who cares, this album rocks. Matt M.

Play this song *
1. *Up-tempo – begins with some emo infused vocals and piano, builds nicely into a punk ditty.
2. Up-tempo – very cool and prominent bass line.
3. *Up –tempo – more eclectic feel – pounding guitar riff and an eerie accordion. Dark, falls in and out of the punk altcountry accelerated rhythm nicely.
4. Up-tempo – A song about red wine that doesn’t suck.
5. Up-tempo – called “An American Funeral” Begins with strong emo vocals and picks up in a heavy rocker with screaming guitars. The solo rock-out portion is pretty cool.
6. Up-tempo – begins a with atmospheric half-melodies. This one leans more toward a cow-punk/rock-a-billy sound, but does not diverge much from the rest of the album.
7. *Mid-tempo – yes, not up-tempo – sort of bluesy and swaggering. Organic. A pretty violin solo takes us through verse three.
8. Up-tempo – a slow and deliberate buildup to the punk sound with screaming guitar – half-way through we get some foot stomping – like they are on a porch in the South.
9. *Up-tempo – very altcountry – especially the melodic – Jayhawkesque guitar riff that follows the vocal melody. Only 2:02.
10. Mid-tempo – this is a noisy, odd song – which uses a cow bell over a messy electric guitar – it could be a southern spiritual “Oh Lord” type lament. It doesn’t exactly work, but doesn’t exactly not work either.
11. Mid-tempo – this departs a bit as well – more of a rock song than punk. There is a lot of harmonica.