Starbenders consisting of lead vocalist / guitarist Kimi Shelter, bassist Aaron Lecesne, guitarist Kriss Tokaji and drummer Emily Moon released their third full-length album Take Back The Night back on September 22, 2023.
Studio albums
Heavy Petting(2016)
Love Potions (2020)
Take Back The Night (2023)
EPs
Starbenders (2014)
Julian (2018)
Japanese Rooms (2019)
7-inch
"Powder" (2015)
True rock & roll, at its core, lives in that youthful, unjaded space between adolescence and adulthood. Smoking cigarettes behind the bowling alley with your friends. Cruising the suburbs aimlessly for hours blasting your favorite bands because it's the only thing that makes life bearable. Sneaking out and getting busted by the cops for being at the skatepark after curfew. Awakening to the fact that you're an outsider, but realizing through the songs you're listening to that it's not a bad thing to be.
Atlanta band StarBenders' "blasphemous candy-coated bubblegum punk," as frontgirl Kimi Shelter calls it, is teenage rebellion, pure and concentrated—the transcendent rock & roll antidote to the suffocating environment that spawned it. "I write from my 14-year-old self," Shelter says, "and I'm still very in tune with that self because that's the age when you really start to understand and appreciate music, and it was the age when I started to create myself as I am today. Now, when I write something, I ask myself, 'If I was 14 and heard this, would I flip my shit over it? If the answer's yes, I know it's good enough."
StarBenders' self-titled debut EP—out this fall on Institution Records—was produced by Nico Constantine (Biters, Coathangers, Lady Gaga), recorded and mixed by Jeff Bakos (The Woggles, Anti-Heros, GG Allin), and mastered by Jeff Golden (Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Bad Brains). "The new EP represents a very genuine moment for me," Shelter says. "Everything is coming from this persecuted mind frame—this snotty schoolgirl attitude toward life. Which is autobiographical—I was the little punk kid in a small town. A lot of the songs deal with saying or feeling things that put you on the outside, but then embracing that. And there's also a sexuality to it—a very animalistic, schoolgirl view of sexuality."
StarBenders formed late in 2013, but for Shelter and drummer Katie Herron, its genesis lies deeper in their past—at a wilderness-therapy camp for troubled kids. Even at her teenage worst, Shelter was pretty innocent—mostly, she just liked being out and around people, listening to music and going to shows. But in the tiny Georgia town where she lived, the police didn't have much better to do than hassle punk kids. "If you were skateboarding where you shouldn't be, you got booked," she says. "If you were under 18 and out past curfew, you got taken to the police station. I was arrested for all kinds of ridiculous shit—stuff like littering. I was arrested five or six times before I was 15."
Terrified her daughter would end up on drugs, Shelter's recovered-alcoholic ex-flower-child mother was accordingly strict. Herron came from a different and even more austere background, her Dad a Pentecostal tent preacher near Huntsville, Ala.—the kind that lays hands on people, speaking in tongues while they fall backward into ecstatic, near-epileptic fits of salvation.
So Shelter's and Herron's parents shipped them off to a nature-healing camp in the middle of nowhere to get 'em good and rehabilitated. "The whole troubled-youth industry is big business—and a total crock of bullshit," Shelter says. "It reminds me of that Suicidal Tendencies song 'Institutionalized'—'I just wanted a Pepsi, Mom!' But that camp is where I met Katie, so at least something good came of it. She was fascinating to me—so quiet, but so scrappy. Katie has always been mysterious to me, but at the same time, from the beginning, we had an understanding."
The two made a pact that someday they'd start a rock & roll band together. After they left camp behind, they kept in touch for the rest of high school, visiting each other whenever possible. During college, they went their separate ways, both playing in bands, their musical personalities slowly emerging and evolving until Shelter's recent rock & roll visions drew them back together in StarBenders. "All of a sudden," Shelter says, "Katie was right there with me like we were 14 again, being assholes in the wilderness. It's so rare in life that you actually stand by one of the million things you shouted you were gonna do at that age. I'm so glad Katie's in this band with me now. She's a phenomenal drummer, and we're a dynamic duo in a lot of ways. When we're out at the bar after a show, we're like two hyenas in the background, cackling and talking shit."
Shelter and Herron are joined in StarBenders by rhythm guitarist Kyle Gordon and bassist Aaronious Monk. The former they discovered playing with his old band Kill Gordon in Birmingham. ("He captured me when I saw him play," Shelter says. "He had these really interesting moves—kinda reminded of me of Dex from the Flat Duo Jets.") And the latter they found outside infamous Atlanta dive the Star Bar after Monk was booted in the wake of a bar fight. "Aaron has this evil genius thing about him," Shelter says. "He's the guy that will come up to you and start talking physics in the middle of a bar. The night we met, he was deep into some argument with this guy about some untouchable topic like religion or politics. After a while, the guy started getting aggressive. Of course, everybody's looking, and this dude was twice his size, and Aaron was just standing defiantly in front of him still trying to state his point—finally, they come to blows and the bouncer ends up throwing Aaron out. I went to check on him, and he was sitting on the curb smoking a cigarette with a busted lip. I sat down, we started talking and we've been friends ever since.
"Everybody in the band is a defiant punk," Shelter says. "Katie. Aaron. And Kyle was a lone wolf, too. That's why we work so well together. It's one of those situations where different paths lead to the same place."
And in that place, StarBenders are now making powerful music that conjures the same depth of feeling, newness and electricity that hits you when you're a wide-eyed kid at your first rock show. Will your 14-year-old self flip over it? Hell yes. It's that good.
Blood
starbenders Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
last time I saw you was when lust was in style
so whats goin' on, you know whats been new?
oh me? not much baby, just missing you
My baby blue
you, the only light in this room
yours, the only blood I can taste
So let's go, I wanna climb through your window
haven't seen you since my last show
been restless on my pillow
common take a walk down memory lane
things ended pretty badly but a lot has changed
my hearts been empty, my thoughts depressed
what I'm needing baby is your
your sweet caress
your soft caress
you, the only light in this room
yours, the only blood I can taste
So let's go, I wanna climb through your window
haven't seen you since my last show
been restless on my pillow
SOLO
So let's go, I wanna climb through your window
haven't seen you since my last show
been restless on my pillow
When you get home I'll wait on your porch steps
really don't want to break up
can't we just kiss… and make up
The lyrics of Starbenders' song "Blood" tell the story of two people who are reconnecting after some time apart. The singer greets the person they are addressing and asks them how things have been. In the chorus, they describe the person as the only light and blood they can taste, indicating that they are very important to them. The singer then asks the person to take a walk down memory lane and reflects on how things had ended badly in the past, but that the singer's heart has been empty since then. They are in need of the person's sweet caress to feel whole again. In the end, the singer asks the person to give them another chance and suggests they kiss and make up.
The lyrics of "Blood" are full of emotion, painting a picture of someone who is missing someone else dearly. The use of the phrase "my baby blue" is particularly memorable, as it is a term of endearment that implies that the singer cares deeply for this person. The phrase "your sweet caress" is also significant as it shows that the person's touch has a calming effect on the singer. The chorus, with its repeated statement that the person is the only light and blood, is particularly powerful, suggesting that this person is the singer's everything.
Line by Line Meaning
hi hi hello, yes it's been quite a while
Greeting an old partner after a long period of time.
last I saw you was when lust was in style
Last met the partner when they were involved in a sexual relationship.
so whats goin' on, you know whats been new?
Asking about what has been happening in the partner's life recently.
oh me? not much baby, just missing you
Expressing feelings of longing and missing the partner.
My baby blue
A term of endearment for the partner.
you, the only light in this room
The partner is the only source of light in an otherwise dark and lonely room.
yours, the only blood I can taste
The partner is the only person who makes her feel alive and truly fulfilled.
So let's go, I wanna climb through your window
Expressing a desire to be close to the partner physically and emotionally.
haven't seen you since my last show
Has not seen the partner since the last performance.
been restless on my pillow
Has been unable to sleep without the partner's presence.
come on, take a walk down memory lane
Inviting the partner to reminisce about their past experiences together.
things ended pretty badly but a lot has changed
Acknowledging that the past relationship had issues but both parties have grown and changed.
my hearts been empty, my thoughts depressed
Describing the negative emotions that have been felt since the break-up.
what I'm needing baby is your your sweet caress
Expressing a desire for the partner's physical touch and affection.
your soft caress
Further emphasizing the need for the partner's gentle touch.
When you get home I'll wait on your porch steps
Planning to wait for the partner on their porch when they return home.
really don't want to break up
Expressing regret for the previous break-up and a desire to not repeat it.
can't we just kiss… and make up
Hoping that physical touch can reconcile and repair the fractured relationship.
Contributed by Caleb O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@iguessimjustme5316
WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN ALL MY LIFE!?! your music is absolutely amazing. I can't stop listening to you guys
@Starbenders
come have a seat next to us at the table. welcome to The Zodiac ♡
@thalia2584
So true!🎶
@mattdropdead7667
Saw them in El Paso open for Alice In Chains. Kind of blown away, can’t stop listening to them.
@renzokukenleneyoyo522
Saw them opening for Alice in Houston now I can't stop listening to them and alice in my playlist, got to greet the whole band outside the venue they are a delight, a bunch of cool kids
@tazatorres8799
Saw them in Denver and sadly had to leave the show early from health conditions (first time seeing Alice I was pretty upset man) but I got to see them and my God they were inspiring
@renzokukenleneyoyo522
That sucks hope you're better and you can see them next time around
@tazatorres8799
Renzokuken Leneyoyo thank you likewise man it was definitely a life goal cut short but if I don't see them I'll be damned if I'm not on stage with them ✊🏽
@tazatorres8799
Renzokuken Leneyoyo thank you likewise man it was definitely a life goal cut short but if I don't see them I'll be damned if I'm not on stage with them ✊🏽
@moisesnascimento4589
I just saw an ad for the song "if you need it", and I just loved this band, amazing you guys, they already have a fan in Brazil!🇧🇷🤘🏽