For their third album On The Outside, the English band Starsailor went to Los Angeles, to work with producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliot Smith and The Vines among others). Can you hear that too? Yes and no. On The Outside still sounds like typical Starsailor, especially due to the voice of singer James Walsh, but on the other hand it is also a much heavier record than its predecessors. While Silence
… Is Easy (2003) was a lot less restrained than the debut Love Is Here (2001), On The Outside is really a lot of leather, with a prominent place for the organ. Louder than before and hardly any more acoustic, except in the last song. What has remained in any case are the songs that can be sung directly from the first beat. It seems as if this time they are made to pop in a full stadium, where the audience can roar loudly with the choruses. Starsailor seems to have largely said goodbye to subtlety, but anyone who can step over that will certainly appreciate On The Outside. (IV)more
