Who knows why some bands attain global stardom while other, more talented, bands fall by the wayside? In the case of The Hollywood Stars it was the usual suspects of label problems and internal strife that led to their demise in the late 1970’s with the band leaving behind a handful of releases and a good looking corpse. But then something wonderful happened in 2013; the band’s “lost album” Shine Like A Radio was finally released and the great reception it garnered sowed the seeds for their 2018 reformation. New album Starstruck marks the band as a vital force, and one that could teach the young pretenders a thing or two.

With no time to waste opening shot ‘Can’t Do It Right’ immediately makes its presence felt with an insanely catchy riff and a hook that’s as hefty as the right hand of Mike Tyson. It marks the band as a contemporary force and it sounds as if they’d never been away, and with founding members Scott Phares (vocals) and Terry Rae (drums) at the helm that’s really no surprise. However, there’s always a touch of trepidation when a legendary band reconvenes (especially after a lengthy hiatus), a nagging question will always linger as to whether the band will still have their old magic, but ‘Can’t Do It Right’ puts any such queries to bed, and in some style. It evidences a band at the top their game in the song writing department. Belying its title, this track punches all the right buttons and shows they’ve learned a thing or two over the years; the chorus is held back until the optimum moment, then released (and along with it a certain amount of tension), but more tellingly the whole thing is over inside three minutes. They don’t overstay their welcome, and true to the old adage leaves us hungry for more.

The fact Alice Cooper and Kiss saw the potential of the band’s songs (‘Escape’ was included on the Coop’s Welcome To My Nightmare and Kiss covered ‘King Of The Night Time World’ on Destroyer) only makes the band’s untimely demise all the more infuriating and we can only wonder how they’d have illuminated the ‘70s and ‘80s had they stayed together. Starstruck gives us tantalising glimpses of what could have been, but the band aren’t prepared to rest on past glories and there’s plenty of invention here to make this a forward facing affair. Take ‘Haunted’, for example, some Ennio Morricone styling (where the hell did that come from?!) is fused to a decidedly Cheap Trick songsmithery and the two conspire to create a piece of rock n’ roll heaven.

With the album split (almost) evenly between old and new compositions, Starstruck perfectly walks the line between past and present. Subsequently, this is an album that speaks of what rock n’ roll was but, more importantly, signposts what it could be.

• Starstruck is released via Rum Bar Records on 15th June 2024 (available here).
• Bandcamp | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Channel

Track List:

1. Can’t Do It Right
2. Taxi Driver
3. Bad, Bad Man
4. I Had A Girlfriend
5. This Merry-Go Round
6. Total Control
7. Save Me
8. Sleeping Giant
9. Haunted
10. Am I Right Or Wrong?
11. Walking With An Angel
12. Revenge
13. Shortage Of Love
14. Can’t Do It Right (Extended Version)
15. Revenge (Extended Version)