Star & Dagger: Tomorrowland Blues

This fairly uninspired stew of bass-heavy bluesy rock features Sean Yseault (bassist for White Zombie) and vocalist Von Hesseling teaming up with guitarist Dava She Wolf. It all sounds terribly promising, and individual songs do have some pizzazz, notably the barn-burning “Freak Train” and the sultry, screw-you kiss-off, “Your Mama Was a Grifter”.

Too much of the rest, though, sounds muddy and indistinct, marred by lousy production and an overemphasized bottom end, so the guitars sound as if they’re playing through amplifiers of mud. Hessling’s vocals are often annoying, as she makes the mistake of confusing histrionics with intensity, and the whole thing comes off as simultaneously overblown and lo-fi. In certain situations — say, cruising down the highway at 75 mph — there might be a certain guilty-pleasure attractiveness to this album, but there are always going to be better options as well.