The return of Vancouver's Star Collector was one of the joys of doing what we do on I Don't Hear A Single. We love the band so much that they even got the Mick Dillingham Interview treatment in 2021. You can read that here and it describes the band's career to that point really well.
A new album is always to be celebrated, the quartet always deliver and here is a wonderful marked change that adds many strings to their bow. They have always managed variety, but their strength has always majored on Rock, a little flavour of The Who, a dash of Mod, a hint of Punk, but with a large willingness and need to Rock.
Everything Must Go reveals a much bigger ambition. It shows in the arrangements, but especially in Vic Wayne's vocal. He can belt songs out in his sleep, but here he stretches his vocal to extremes offering an unexpected tenderness at times across whatever genre they enter,
Take, for instance, The Best Thing. This is essentially Jangle Pop that can't resist a breakout solo, but Waynes's vocal is beautifully restrained in a way that enhances the song. There are examples of this everywhere.
The Rock is well catered for, but it is the diversions that grab a long term fan like myself most. It adds a whole new world to a Star Collector album. You know it will be absolute quality before you listen to any of it. But here the four enter a new dimension.
There are some heavyweight collaborations, you can read the Bandcamp page to discover them all. I've also held back on most song descriptions, hoping newbies will go and discover the band themselves. I've picked the three songs that are my favourites today. This is an essential listen, off you go to hear the delights!
You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on CD and as a download.
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