Album Reviews

Lovestarrs’ Supernova EP Illuminates the Eardrums!

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The past year-and-a-half hasn’t been too kind to Sarah McIntosh, Hamish McIntosh, and George Hinton, originally known as the English synthpop band The Good Natured.

In March of 2013, the trio revealed that their upcoming full-length debut album would be titled Prism. A lot of promotion was done for said record, including a gif contest, in which fans had to create their own animated series of images related to the music video for the single “5-HT.” In honor of Prism, the winner would receive the actual shimmering, pyramidal sculpture featured in the single’s video. A few months later, pop sensation Katy Perry announced the title of her upcoming album that was set to be released the same year, which also happened to be named Prism, leaving Good Natured fans to much dismay and wondering how the band could compete with such a coincidence.

Around the same time frame, The Good Natured admitted via their Facebook account that they had been dropped from their record label and were trying hard to get back on their feet and release the album independently. For numerous months, TGN fans were in shock and utter confusion as to whether the band was going to release the new record like they promised. Good Naturers left numerous comments on their Facebook asking when they were releasing new music, and no responses were given.

However, for a group named The Good Natured, they couldn’t possibly ignore their fans for too long and not give them what they wanted, right? Sure enough, last December, they had the courtesy to announce that they would be back “in a new shape and form” for 2014. In January of 2014, it was confirmed that they had changed their name and from then on would be referred to as “Lovestarrs.”

As of Tuesday, September 16, 2014, the retro-sounding trio returned with Supernova, their first EP as Lovestarrs. While it’s not exactly the same Good Natured flavor fans crave, the tracks are definitely in good taste, and Sarah McIntosh’s vocals never fail to be recognizable.

The EP introduces itself to listeners with its ever-so-catchy “Life Is A Bitch.” The title alone sounds like it would be a depressing ballad or darker version of a Taylor Swift single, but it’s actually quite the opposite. With cheerful sing-songy backup vocals accompanied by soft and innocent-sounding lyrics such as “I’ve got a feeling, I’m not the only one” and “Knock me out, I’m down on the floor; help me in, I’m out for some more,”  this is the type of song that one could listen to on a bad day and easily feel better about life. After all, this is coming from a band who got dropped from their record label before they even had a chance to make it big. What else in life could possibly be worse than that?