aaamusic | On 28, Apr 2012

Gringo Star’s follow-up to debut All Y’all is produced by Deerhunter producer Ben Allen, and his influence is noticeable from the word go. The Atlanta foursome, along with Allen, have created a fantastic hybrid of styles with this album, fusing grunge and garage rock with Brit-pop sounding melodies and often Flaming Lips style psychedelia. Opening track ‘Shadows’ demonstrates this mix perfectly, with wild wailing, powerful yet simple chord changes, a strong back beat and a joyous chorus. Yet behind this cacophony of sounds there seems to be something familiar holding it all in place. Second track, ‘You Want It’ could easily have been written by Weezer in their heyday.
Even by the time the title track rolls around, it is hard to distinguish what it is about Gringo Star that feels so familiar, ‘Count Yer Lucky Stars’ sounds like The Strokes paying homage to The Zombies, and it contains much of the excitement that the New Yorkers have struggled so hard to recapture since their glorious debut. ‘Come Alive’ is – for my money – the stand-out track on the album, possessing something of Brian Wilson’s Beach Boys; it creates an image of beautiful beaches, beautiful girls and beautiful feeling, utilising organs and airy harmonies to do so.
Despite their success in fusing a number of different genres, Count Yer Lucky Stars does contain a mixture of fillers as well as thrillers, tracks like ‘Beatnik Angel Georgie’ and ‘Esmarelda’ , with their wistful musings, don’t really live up to the high-energy offerings in the rest of the album. Halfway through, the album seems to turn to more of a pop sound, and whilst tracks like ‘Jessica’, ‘Light in the Sky’ and ‘Make You Mine’ are not bad, they do not demonstrate quite the same musical versatility that the earlier tracks do. Final track, ‘Mexican Coma’ does however return to Ben Allen’s unique production style to pleasantly frame the album.
Even by the end of the album, it is hard to capture what it is about Gringo Star’s sound that makes them so unique, so enjoyable and so listenable and yet so familiar. Despite the numerous amounts of influences they seem to have taken, theirs is certainly an American sound and although it may not be apparent through the tracks on Count Yer Lucky Stars, the influence of American music goes further back than grunge of the early nineties, even further back than the surf music of the early sixties. Gringo Star have their roots in early rock n roll, and they don’t channel this through the music they make, but perhaps more importantly, it is through the way they play it. There is an energy about this band that is infectious, whether that relates to commercial success is another matter. Either way I’d remember the name Gringo Star, which shouldn’t be hard, it’s a bloody good name!

★★★★★

Will Pye