Starover Blue

Origins

The band formed in 2007 under the name Cartoon Bar Fight, when founding members Kendall Sallay (lead vocals, guitar) and Dirk Milotz (synthesizer, guitar) met in the music department at San Jose State University. Sallay studied operatic vocal performance while Milotz pursued a degree in composition. They bonded over a shared appreciation of Arcade Fire and Neutral Milk Hotel and began by playing an offshoot of "indie-folk."

By 2009, both Sallay and Milotz would leave the music department, finding the academic approach to music overly "mathematical." The band's sound, however, began evolving into something more experimental and layered, relying heavily on analog synthesizer. The departure from folk instrumentation, acoustic arrangements, and standard time signatures occurred slowly as the group solidified a core lineup consisting of Sallay, Milotz, Joel Zelaya (ambient/lead guitar), Max Rogers (bass), and Jerald Bittle (drums).

In mid-2014, the band changed its name to Starover Blue, in reference to a character from Vladmir Nabokov's Pale Fire. The existing lineup recorded and produced the band's second LP, Spacegeist, prior to disbanding when Sallay and Milotz relocated from San Jose to Portland, OR.

Relocation

In early 2016, Sallay and Milotz moved to Portland, OR and rebuilt the band's lineup. On August 12, 2016, Spacegeist premiered online on PopMatters and was officially released on August 26, two years after the start of the recording process.

Tell All the Children E.P. (2011)

Tell All the Children E.P. was originally released under the band's previous name. The seven-track release, composed of bedroom recordings and sessions tracked in the San Jose State recording studio, exemplifies the band's indie-folk roots, with prevalent banjo, baritone ukulele, piano, and hand-percussion. The lyrics revolve around themes of childhood, disillusionment, and disenchantment with fairy tales and religious beliefs. It was described as a "straightforward, mellow indie-folk effort, somewhere between Feist and The Decemberists."

Reincarnate (2012)

Reincarnate, the band's first LP, was originally released under the band's previous name. The eleven-track concept album, which focuses on themes of death and rebirth, was described as eerie, cerebral, and inquisitive, as opposed to depressing or macabre. It veers from folk into "experimental soundscapes" with heavier rock sections, while still retaining many softer moments. Rich with ambient analog synth, the closing and title track, Reincarnate, was intended to sonically bridge the songs with a future concept album about space. The album was self-recorded and mixed in an apartment shared by Sallay and Milotz.

The Labyrinth Suite E.P. (2013)

The Labyrinth Suite E.P. was originally released under the band's previous name. The three tracks, Mechropolis, Into the Labyrinth, and Saturnine challenged the band’s ‘folk’ moniker altogether, showing a side that delved more into futuristic psych-rock and dark synth-pop. Remixed and remastered versions of these tracks appear on Spacegeist. The E.P. was self-recorded and mixed at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco, CA.

Spacegeist (2016)

Spacegeist is the band's second LP, and the first LP released under the name Starover Blue. The sixteen-track album was self-recorded at Big Sky Ranch in Big Bear, CA, mixed by Matt Wright, and mastered by Doug Van Sloun (a prominent engineer in the Omaha music scene who has worked on releases for Saddle Creek Records). It is described as "a dream pop concept album" with sci-fi imagery, intricate harmonies, and "nostalgic analog synth," that examines "how different people and landscapes are affected by dependence on technology.” The album includes several brief piano compositions shrouded in ambient noise, reflective of the band's experience playing music for years in Silicon Valley and feeling drowned out by the predominant tech culture.

Album singles include the title track, Spacegeist, described as "sparkly" and "sad yet celebratory all at once" as well as Summer Snow, a "portrayal of a failed space mission… inhabit[ing] the empty space in a two-fold reality: a society that relies completely on technology is inevitably rendered defenseless in its wake.”