STARSET has never been a band interested in keeping their music confined to this planet. Blending orchestral arrangements, electronic textures, low-tuned atmospheric guitars, and huge sing-along choruses, this Columbus group has built a sound that feels cinematic as it does heavy. Their latest release “t r a n s f u s 1 0 n” continues that approach, pairing a slow-burning musical progression with a lyric video that grows increasingly unsettling as the song continues. The newly released video moves between fields of wheat or grass, the outside front of a church, and expansive cloudscapes. At first, the imagery feels quiet but a little peaceful, but subtle digital distortions begin to disrupt the scenery. The clouds glitch, the scenes transform rapidly, and the visuals gradually lose that sense of peace right when the lyrics and guitars turn loud, eventually turning red, and the video pushes something more ominous.
That gradual shift is so on brand for STARSET, with a handful of their songs having deeper, darker elements within a huge-sounding sing-a-long chorus. The opening carries a feeling of vulnerability and isolation like an astronaut in orbit, even though visually, we’re looking at countryside Columbus. There’s a surprising amount happening beneath the song’s quieter moments in the verses, with electronic textures creating and mending the sense of distance and weight. It never feels entirely empty, just very, very eerie. As the song progresses, as I said, the tension is harder to ignore.
STARSET have long understood the relationship between sound and visual storytelling, and “t r a n s f u s 1 0 n” is another prime cut of the meat that makes up STARSET. Since emerging in 2013, STARSET has become one of modern rock’s most distinctive acts, combining science-fiction influences with nu-metal styles, with a visual representation of Apollo 13. Their breakout single “My Demons” helped introduce audiences to their expansive sound, while billions of streams and a devoted international following have established the band as a major force in modern rock. “t r a n s f u s 1 0 n” arrives alongside the band’s other recent releases, “p a r a d 0 x 1 c” and “a n n 1 h 1 l a t i o n,” offering another look at STARSET’s gigantic solar system of creative direction.
STARSET are also currently touring this fall alongside Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, and Kami Kehoe. The run brings together several prominent names in modern hard rock, giving fans the opportunity to experience so many different directions and flavors of the ever-changing genre of “modern rock,” even though classic staples Chevelle and Breaking Benjamin don’t quite fit the outer space vibe.
STARSET ON TOUR:
WITH BREAKING BENJAMIN, CHEVELLE, + KAMI KEHOE:
10/02 — Las Vegas, NV — Michelob ULTRA Arena
10/03 — Anaheim, CA — Honda Center
10/05 — Phoenix, AZ — Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
10/07 — Albuquerque, NM — First Financial Credit Union Amphitheater
10/10 — The Woodlands, TX — The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
10/12 — Fort Worth, TX — Dickies Arena
10/13 — Rogers, AR — Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion
10/16 — Tuscaloosa, AL — Mercedes-Benz Amphitheatre
10/17 — Alpharetta, GA — Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
10/19 — Tampa, FL — MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/20 — West Palm Beach, FL — iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
10/23 — Raleigh, NC — Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
10/24 — Bristow, VA — Jiffy Lube Live
This is quite the tour package, and a must-see fall tour before winter closes down most outdoor amphitheaters. The tour continues through September and ends in October, extending the band’s cinematic approach to audiences across North America in one of the biggest tours STARSET has ever done.
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