Star Parks - “Oh Boredom (Schmaltz City, USA)

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 4

Pairs Well With…Band of Horses, The Flaming Lips, My Morning Jacket

Austin’s Star Parks has been quiet on the release front since 2020’s The New Sounds of Late Capitalism, but a revisit proves the band’s dreamy, psych-pop gems still hold up. Sweeping harmonies and Western melodies highlight Star Parks’ music, slowed and stretched while it maintains an air of Americana underneath. That reverential pop sound is twisted with slightly weird pushes and DIY production elements, subverting any throwback expectations. While they live in a comfortable, floating space on New Sounds, there’s still some pop sharpness in Star Parks’ songwriting that can lead into soulful grooves. Check out Star Parks Friday night at Cooper’s BBQ. (Kevin McStravick)

2020 Review: Smooth indie rock/pop with cinematic inflections of horns and strings, Star Parks elevates their sophomore record The New Sounds of Late Capitalism to something bigger than just the sum of parts on the cohesively ambitious effort. Hazy, garage pop modes criss-cross with breezy, mid-tempo rock structures on Star Parks’ latest full-length, a record that pulls back to classic 60s pop and rock influences but delivers them with a slighted, bedroom pop croon.