Coming out of Huntington Beach, CA is the rock foursome Star Off Machine with their new release “Burn This”. Formed in early 2007 by Erick Holloway (vocals), Robin Charlet (guitar), Tut (drums) and Jeremy Whitely (bass), Star Off Machine has put together a respectable collection of twelve rock shock anthems with a smattering of melodious ballads. It’s easy to hear that their influences are many… echos of Sevendust, early Kings X and a better executed Warrant-esque sound flow throughout.
While overall the tracks are palatable, “Burn This” gets a bit more tasty around track 4- “Walk Away”- takes the entire cd in a different direction and lands the listener in a place where the band seems more at home and is trying less to impress… the result being that the songs are less contrived and manufactured sounding and more genuine and heartfelt.
It’s clear that Star Off Machine has the energy and drive to be on the sound radar, with more than capable musicianship, memorable hooks, and more often than not, better than average lyrics, the next question is where will the drive take them… in the mean time, “Burn This” is disc changer worthy.
