Starship Amazing are an electronic band straight out of Anchorage, Alaska. The band consists of Derek Alexander (melodies) and Calvin Hansen (beats). At the time of this writing, they have released 5 albums and 1 EP, the most recent of which being Scoops The Robot and An Apocolypse In Binary: The Memoirs Of Gearhart Deckrion. After recently buying Gearhart and completing my collection of Starship Amazing music, I've thought long and hard about which of their two latest records (which are undeniably their greatest thus far) is best. And I've come to one conclusion: I cannot decide between the two. So instead, I'll just talk about both.
An Apocolypse In Binary: The Memoirs Of Gearhart Deckrion opens with the loud, in-your-face Progress Beckons. The first thing that struck me about this track is the use of sampled gunshots as the primary beat. Allow that to set the tone for the rest of the album: this is some dark shit.
Upon repeat listenings, I can draw some similarities between the structure of this album and the traditional 3-act structure of any good film. Progress Beckons is of course the exposition of the album, introducing the listener to the feeling and tone of the record. The first distruption of equilibrium is brought about immediately after this with Born Like This, Into This, and seems to be resolved at the end of Through Still And Storm through the use of a piano melody, creating calm and lulling you into a false sense of security. This is just the eye of the storm, however, as The Bleak Glory, The Grand Symphony throws you right back into it, another distruption which is later resolved again after a brutal beating in We Few Who Remain, ending softly with various strings as the song fades out. This calm is continued in Everyone Sleeps Alone, until it provides the final distruption that seeps over into A Hideous Triumph Of Form And Function and Within The Stagnant Shadow together forming the climax of the supposed film, the coda of which being shown through the latter half of Within The Stagnant Shadow and There Will Come Soft Rains, using mainly traditional instruments and moving at a much slower pace, giving the album closure.
This probably isn't exactly what Derek and Calvin intended for the record, but that's just what I get out of it when I listen to it. Besides this, the album fills my mind with powerful imagery of a gargantuan hurricane rocking an already bleak city to its core, leaving nothing but the hope left in the survivors to one day rebuild their crumbled metropolis.
Scoops The Robot, to me, represents this hope, filling me with instant happiness and a feeling of triumph, which is why I recommend the two records to be listened to in sequence, Scoops being played second. From its opening with Scoops, The Natural Born Cuddler to the ender, If Love Is A Fire, We Will Set This City Ablaze, this record feels like the progression that the citizens of this unnamed city are going through to rebuild their once-great residence, the closing song representing their relief of this accomplishment and the knowledge that they can finally relax. Scoops contrasts heavily with Gearhart: This is the happiest album of all time.
In short, these are both outstanding records and sit among my favourites in my music collection. They are definitely worth anyone's time, and at only US$5 each, what do you have to lose? (other than ten bucks, but how cheap are you?) You can even stream the albums for free on their site (http://www.starshipamazing.com/) to try before you buy. Get the fuck on that.
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