The thing I like about Hungarian band Stardust is that they are not too heavy and not too light. Much like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, however you’ll need to listen to it a few more times to get to the bottom of it.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Stardust
ALBUM: Highway To Heartbreak
LABEL: Frontiers
SERIAL: FRCD 1065
YEAR: 2020
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Hungary
LINEUP: Adam Stewart – vocals, rhythm guitar, production * Facey – lead and rhythm guitars * Dave Legrand – keyboards * Ben Martin – bass * Tim Keeley – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Runaway * 02 Heartbreaker * 03 Bullet To My Heart * 04 Perfect Obsession * 05 2nd Hand Love * 06 Shout It Out * 07 Can’t Stop Lovin’ You * 08 Eye To Eye * 09 Hey Mother * 10 Blue Jeans Eyes * 11 The River Is Rollin’
RATING: 85/100
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
The Hungarian band Stardust has been around since 2015 though five years later they deliver their debut. Better late than never I suppose. We wrote a brief article on their 2016 three-track sampler (click the tag below) though what is confusing is their use of English christian and surnames. What’s the story?
Signed by Frontiers after being made aware of their presence, the band and label have bought in Mark Spiro and Tommy Denander for songwriting and recording assistance. The resulting sound is very polished and will appeal to those who enjoy the bands on Frontiers roster.
The Songs
‘Runaway’ is the lead-off, with a similar approach to bands like Creye and Shaft Of Steel. Love the racy delivery too. A cover of Pat Benatar‘s hit ‘Heartbreaker’ turns up early on the album. A good rendition but probably superfluous in the overall scheme of things.
‘Bullet To My Heart’ rests easy on the ear, all good throughout the key components of verses, bridge, choruses and solos. All hit the sweet spot. ‘Perfect Obsession’ is the first change-up moment, an acoustic dominated number. A song like this was common during the early 90’s by all those bands doing the melodic rock meets cowpoke thing. This is kinda cool though there is no solo.
‘2nd Hand Love’ is a reasonable track, the guitar melodies sound familiar but the progression from the verse/bridge into the chorus could’ve been better from a contrast point of view. The solo right at the end was pretty good though.
‘Shout It Out’ with its synth parts, guitar chords and chant-a-long vocals sounds very Swedish to these ears. An OK track though a touch derivative. Again, the solo is the icing on the cake. ‘Can’t Stop Lovin’ You’ moves in the same groove as Danger Danger when that band operated at half speed on their first two albums.
Chugging rhythm guitars and parping synths feature prominently on ‘Eye To Eye’, and then the tempo increases significantly from the point of the solo onward. Of the pairing of ‘Hey Mother’ and ‘Blue Jeans Eyes’, I much preferred the latter which faintly hinted at the sound of Work Of Art, the track a bit lighter than the other material on the album.
Concluding Stardust’s debut album is the 5-minute ‘The River Is Rollin’. I was reminded of the Michael Thompson Band, a simply lovely track. I’m guessing this has the indelible hand of Mark Spiro All over it. Talk about saving the best till last.
In Summary
The thing I like about Stardust is that they are not too heavy and not too light. Much like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This is the sort of album to listen to a few more times to get to the bottom of it. I feel there are a lot of late 1980s and early 1990s reference points throughout which should appeal to much of the readership here. Give it a shot.
Video
Runaway
River Is Rollin’
