Starfish64: The Future In Reverse

If you like Pink Floyd you owe yourself to give a listen to German band Starfish64 and their latest album titled The Future In Reverse. The band has quite a long history forming in 2006 and began as a singer/songwriter project for lead vocalist Dieter Hoffmann. Over the years the band has grown to its present line-up of the aforementioned Hoffmann (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Henrik Kropp (drums), Martin Pownall (vocals, guitars, bass) and Dominik Suhl (guitars). They have thus far released six long players including their debut The Doldrums Of Mr. Richman in 2008. It’s amazing to me this band has kept hidden from my ears for this long.

Back to my original statement. This isn’t to say Starfish 64 is a direct carbon copy of The Floyd because they are not but that band’s influence has certainly helped shape their sound at least to some extent. The dreamy and lush instrumentation, melodic vocals and beautifully flowing song structures are a few examples.

The first track “�Yesterday’s Favourite Smile� is a catchy and sophisticated poppish number with lush vocal harmonies and soaring choruses, an addictive earworm if there ever was one. “Tomorrow In Dark Water� is another melodic gem, quite mellow with dreamy keyboards, sumptuous bass and another fine vocal melody. Some lighter guitar crunch in the background and soft lead guitar further solidifies the band’s ear catching sounds. The use of acoustic guitar is also very nice. If you have heard the British band Preacher this is something similar. Trippy keyboards and guitar wind through the spacey “Determination� , a twelve minute three part suite filled with cool synths, lushly melodic soundscapes and great lead vocals. Voice samples of Carl Sagan fit well with the space theme. “Molehills� features a more rocking sound, the guitar a little heavier before the disc ends with the eighteen minute epic “Charting An Abyss�, a beautifully flowing piece, very poignant, richly layered and highly sophisticated. The guitar work is particularly impressive.

What can I say? Another late year surprise that will surely be on my best of list come the end of the year.

Track Listing:
1. Yesterday’s Favourite Smile (4:45)
2. Tomorrow In Dark Water (6:49)
3. Determination (12:43)
a. Mankind
b. At Lightspeed
c. Infinite Space
4. Molehills (4:03)
5. Charting An Abyss (18:12)
a. Recurring Dreams
b. Framework
c. Dominoes
d. At Peace

Added: December 6th 2018
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band On Bandcamp
Hits: 1375
Language: english

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