At first glance, Cosmic Starfish’s name may be a bit abnormal and untraditional, but their self-titled debut album shows off their creativity.
The album is production from singer Jeffrey Randall Snyder and electronica genius Adrien75. Combining soft acoustics, unique lyrics, and smooth electronic beats, the album provides talent in a vaguely defined area of music.
The opening song “Don’t Give Up” starts the compilation with a soft electronica song. After listening to the song, however, it is easy to discover that the unusual lyrics and bass lines make a wondrous track that is hard to describe. “Hey, let’s run away. It’s such a shame to see you cry…” are the opening lyrics to the song. Although they may seem unconventional, the lyrics help create a surprisingly catchy song in combination with the computer-based beats.
The following track, “What’s Real,” tends to have more of a single tone. In addition to being the album’s first single, “What’s Real” is one of the most notable songs. Unusual lyrics also exist in the simplistic song, “The world is turning and so am I.” However, the combination of soft acoustic guitar and the unique computer beats truly demonstrate the psychedelic tone of the album.
The psychedelic tone set in the album continues in the song “Blue Tuesday.” The comical lyrics in the song such as “…all that was between me and her was a hookah. All she could say was super fly snuka…” and funky acoustic riffs provide a memorable track. Toward the end of the song, though, the beat changes into an excellent electronica solo.
Calming the listener and providing a softer side to the album, “Behind My House” is a short medley for listeners who want a break from the outlandish beats and lyrics earlier in the album.
As unique and very psychedelic as the album appears, certain tracks such as “Sea Major” also demonstrate the other artistic talents of Adrien75. The song is purely instrumental, but uses very ear-friendly synthesizers and electronic beats similar to those of bands such as Pink Floyd.
The combination of talents and subtle, yet powerful tone of the song are reasons alone to give the CD a try. Listeners may also be pleased with a short ska/soft rock track entitled “Landing out of Place.” The song offers a nice variety to the album’s psychedelic overtone.
“Fish in a Bowl” returns the listener back to the cosmic world of the group with its untraditional song title and even more untraditional, yet interesting set of lyrics.
The subsequent songs tend to remain soft and give a little less variation than previous tracks.
“Happy Most of the Time” seems to be a slower version of a techno tune one would hear in a dance club. “Plug & Play” and “Silverlake” also remain rather quiet, but are still worth the time.
Setting the stage for a grand finale, “Grace Fool” tends to build a higher volume, larger use of synthesizers, and overall memorable lyrics such as “…So wipe that smile off your face…I’d rather go this one alone…” that complete the album with a very fitting end.
Cosmic Starfish’s self-titled debut is clearly a very talented set of psychedelic tracks. Definitely worth recommending, the album is a smooth compilation for 2006.
