The Secret Stars - s/t

With Numero's Karate boxset now announced as due for release sometime in September, it's fitting that Shrimper should beat it to the punch with this first time vinyl release of the debut of Geoff Farina's previous band ,The Secret Stars. A duo Farina formed with Jodi Leo (a former Pharmacist, as the name might suggest), The Secret Stars were a fringe lo-fi outfit operating in the early 90s US tape underground, sounding everything like a band born from those circumstances might. Broadly speaking, Secret Stars united the confessional intimacy of second wave emo/slowcore with K Records styled indiepop melodicism and home recording experimentalism (samples, loops et al), the result now sounding like a clarion call for an era that's gone - it sounds so quintessentially of its age it's almost educational! By way of his Karate associations, Farina is going to be the draw for most, but honestly it's Leo's contributions that really turned my head, effortlessly captivating indiepop-miniatures on zero budget but maximum heart. A now not-so-hidden gem from the near-endless Shrimper goldmine.