The LA Band returned to Austin for Levitation Fest
By Jeff McCord
Still teenagers when they started to make a splash on the 2015 LA rock scene, Starcrawler has stuck to their blueprint. Their muscle-y brand of 70s hard rock remains vital and bracing.
Fronted by the spindly Arrow de Wilde, whose matted blond-ish hair seems to hang everywhere, she plays the perfect foil for Henri Cash’s taut, nervy guitar work.
In a breakthrough performance at 2018’s South by Southwest, de Wilde projected snot, (presumably fake) blood, and audience members’ belongings into an excited and nervous crowd. They walked away with that year’s Grulke prize.
And they haven’t exactly mellowed since. In the middle of a song at a set in Philly, I watched de Wilde drop to the stage like a pile of rags. I thought she had passed out, or worse. But no, she bounded back up on the beat, and launched right back in.
Years, three albums and countless miles in the van since, Starcrawler is back in Austin mostly intact (they changed drummers in 2020) with a brand new single, “Learn to Say Goodbye”, a jolting and poignant ode to separation, and their first record to be self-released.
But energetic and unbowed by time, Starcrawler isn’t going anywhere. They’re promising more new music in 2025.
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Musicians: Arrow de Wilde – vocals, Henri Cash – guitar; Tim Franco – bass; Seth Carolina – drums; Bill Cash – guitar
Credits:
Producer: Deidre Gott; Edit: Renee Dominguez; Audio Mix: Jake Perlman, Audio Engineer: Jake Perlman, Rayna Sillvia; Cameras: Michael Minasi, Renee Dominguez, Livia Blackburn; Production Assistant: Confucius Jones; Host: Laurie Gallardo
