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.
Touch
starbenders Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know you want me to stay
Follow your eyes right back to my place
It's pretty cute that you think you're in charge
Fine, I'll let you in
I'm getting hot, I don't want you to stop
Break down the door, and I'll give you the tour
Fine, I'll let you in
Take! It! Off!
Strip! Me! Down!
You're so strong
Rock and roll hard on
I can't stop dreaming about your
I can't stop thinking about your face
Think it's time we touch
I think it's time we...
I'm in the throes of this menial trend
You're everything I drift, don't let me down
Electric burr is making me purr
Hit my knees and pray
Make me submit, show me who's boss
Went down in your arms covered in frost
Deep in the forest, now, you're already lost
Hit your knees and pray
Take! It! Off!
Strip! Me! Down!
You're so strong
Rock and roll hard on
I can't stop dreaming about your
I can't stop thinking about your face
Think it's time we touch
I think it's time we...
I can't stop dreaming about your
I can't stop thinking about your face
Think it's time we touch
I think it's time we...
I can't stop dreaming about your
I can't stop thinking about your face
Think it's time we touch
I think it's time we fuck
I can't stop dreaming about your
I can't stop thinking about your face
Think it's time we touch
I think it's time we...
The lyrics to Starbender's song Touch tell the story of a passionate and physical encounter between the singer and their lover. The first verse describes the mutual attraction between the two and the singer's willingness to succumb to the other's desires. The chorus reveals the intense physicality of their relationship, with an invitation to strip down and rock and roll hard on. The second verse suggests a more submissive role for the singer, as they yearn for their lover's dominance and powerful presence. The chorus repeats with even stronger desire and raw language, culminating in a declaration that it's time to "fuck."
Overall, the song presents an unapologetically explicit and lustful depiction of a sexual experience. The lyrics convey a sense of urgency and excitement, emphasizing the physical sensations and primal instincts at play in the moment. While the song may not be for everyone, it succeeds in capturing the intensity and rawness of carnal desire.
Line by Line Meaning
We fit so cool
Our personalities and desires match well.
I know you want me to stay
I can sense your desire for me to remain in your company.
Follow your eyes right back to my place
I notice the attraction in your eyes and I am willing to take you to my place.
It's pretty cute that you think you're in charge
I find it endearing that you believe you have control over the situation.
Fine, I'll let you in
I will allow you to be a part of my life.
I'm getting hot, I don't want you to stop
Your presence is arousing and I desire more of it.
Break down the door, and I'll give you the tour
I am willing to show you around and give you an intimate experience.
My secret place, give you a taste
I will reveal my hidden desires and let you experience them.
Take! It! Off!
Remove your clothes.
Strip! Me! Down!
Undress me.
You're so strong
I am attracted to your physical strength.
Rock and roll hard on
I am aroused by your rock and roll attitude and sexual desire.
I can't stop dreaming about your
You are on my mind constantly and I cannot stop thinking about you.
I can't stop thinking about your face
Your face is captivating and stays in my thoughts.
Think it's time we touch
I believe it is time for us to be intimate.
I'm in the throes of this menial trend
I am caught up in a tedious and unfulfilling routine.
You're everything I drift, don't let me down
You are everything I desire and I cannot bear to be disappointed by you.
Electric burr is making me purr
I am being stimulated and aroused by your energy and passion.
Hit my knees and pray
I am submitting to you and trusting in our connection.
Make me submit, show me who's boss
I desire you to take control and assert your dominance over me.
Went down in your arms covered in frost
I surrendered to you completely, even if it means facing the cold consequences.
Deep in the forest, now, you're already lost
We have ventured into a place of unknown danger, and we must trust each other to find our way back.
Think it's time we fuck
I believe it is time for us to engage in sexual intercourse.
Contributed by Nicholas O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MzMiichelle
I love the vintage feel of this video and song. The lead singer is so naturally beautiful, it's mesmerizing.
@MarcLatham
Going back through their songs is like travelling my rock n' roll history: this reminds me of Runaways.
Surprised at how 'shiny and clean-cut' they are. 7 years have taken their toll; but the character oozes out of their music too now, so they probably think it's worth it. That's life!
@fluffyvonbeaverhausen7151
i can't stop touching the replay button!!
@dennisrockbottomskelly7948
You have the BEST name I have ever heard...if u decide u don't want it anymore...I'll take it. 'fluffy von beaver hausen'...WoW...Awesome. Seriously.
RB
@hallohimmel
Love her voice. This is my fav song of StarBenders.
@BurkesKarateAcademy
Love Starbenders. This song is very Veruca Salt-ish and I love it. Keep rocking!
@britanicamarie129
This is probably my favorite song by StarBenders. I love songs that are passive yet hit hard. I love the overall look of the video. It has a vintage look. I will be listening to this one a few times.
@TheCherelynnShow
I've played this twice already and going for another round - voice and guitar are perfect! #guitar #rockandroll #glam #postpunk #goth
@roxylincoln9362
ROCK AND ROLL HARD ON!
@anthonyslater3374
Only just discovered this band what a band i love soundgarden who i grew up with but these guys are amazing