The Naomi Star: self-titled

The eponymous debut album from the Naomi Star apparently will be their only release. According to their website (where an image of a tombstone haunts the homepage), this talented quartet is calling it quits. Considering the promise of these 12 songs (and comments about other songs that would have been on a follow-up record), this is sad news.

This quartet produced quiet, intelligent music that traversed the realm from gentle folk-pop to slightly harder-edged rock and Brit-pop. The key to the Naomi Star was pretty melodies laced with just the right touch of electric and acoustic guitars and sweet harmonies.

The Connecticut-based group rose from the ashes of indie band Hannah Cranna. When Hannah Cranna’s label at the time (Big Deal Records) folded, leaving their second release unpromoted, guitarist Steve Bunovsky decided to go ahead and put out a solo record. He enlisted the help of his cousin Paul Kohler on vocals and guitar, along with Hannah Cranna’s rhythm section: bassist Rocco Villavicencio and drummer Steve Raccagni. The Naomi Star was born.

The results of those initial Bunovsky sessions led to other collaborations, while Kohler and Raccagni brought along compositions of their own. Luckily, it’s all captured on this auspicious debut.

Kohler’s “Voices” has a sweet contained hesitancy, its pleasant western-edged sound always hovering on the verge of breaking into something louder. “Glad That You Came” is more traditional rock territory, a guitar-driven melodic song of simple appreciation with nice harmonies that pull it all together. “December Sun,” the Raccagni contribution, is another pleasant little harmony-filled pop song, moving along with a nice back beat (not surprising from a drummer), and good contributions from bassist Villacicencio.

Kohler’s songs seem a little folk-rockier, like “So Cool” and “Poor”, and his expressive vocals put them across well. Either “This Man” or “Sunny Day” might be a good choice for a single, the former featuring a nice guitar lead in a song that recalls many an early Poco recording, and the latter a sweet confection of soft rock. “Waiting” is almost troubadour-like in its soft rock ways, as is “(I Wonder Where You Are) Tonight” (think Bread meets Loggins and Messina meets The Lilac Time), while “Holding On” has delicious guitar parts. The lead-in to “Walking to the Water” seems a distant cousin to Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done”, but the song goes other places. “Hard Getting over You” closes the CD on a somber but pretty note.

All told, this soft rock with a detectable country flavor is exceedingly pleasant, straightforward and well performed. It’s a shame The Naomi Star has faded from the musical sky, but this legacy provides hope that the members will re-emerge in some other form down the road.