Song Spotlight: Starling's Bottlebrush Tree (a night at Zebulon)

Starling took to the Zebulon stage with their mystically ethereal sound that emphasized lead singer's Kasha Souter Willett gothic and vulnerable persona. Bassist Grace Rolek could be seen swaying along with her bass. The venue kept the lights low (which isn't at all unusual for Zebulon) as if to emphasize a David Lynch Blue Velvet visual experience for the audience. 

Starling at Zebulon

I crossed paths with the band at last year's Echo Park Rising. Souter Willett was kind enough to respond to one of my Q&As. Here's a portion of that response: 

Q. What is currently inspiring you in terms of music? A. Currently, our local music scene is inspiring our music. We all are from LA, except Erik our drummer who moved here at 16, and grew up going to local shows. 

Starling at Zebulon

Q. How do you go about combining lyrics and music? A. I write all of the music for Starling. I will usually start with a guitar part and sing nonsense over the part until I find a melody.  Sometimes lyrics will come out in this process too and then I will revise them and finish it up. The rest of the parts are either written in production by myself and Erik [Johnson] the drummer and co producer/ mixer, or at practice with the rest of the band. This started as a solo project and has gotten more collaborative in the past year. 

Initially, my thoughts on this night at Zebulon was that I would be doing a venue jump. I was going to start the night off at another venue and then come over to Zebulon to catch Devon Ross for her "All the Things" single release. I noticed that Starling was opening up the night. It didn't take long for me to decide that I was going to be fully committed to hanging out at Zebulon. I wasn't the only one who came to that conclusion that Zebulon was the place to be from start to end. The venue was packed early with the crowd pressed close to the stage for their set. 

Starling at Zebulon

Their song "Bottlebrush Tree" captures their Mazzy Star sound that incorporates a bite. The band transitioned straight from their opening song "Fuss" to "Bottlebrush Tree." Lead guitarist and backing vocalist Gitai Vinshtok plucked away at the strings. Rolek and Johnson set a hypnotic beat. Souter Willet removed her blazer sweater, tossing it onto the stage. A moment of vulnerability with the lyrics:

Starling at Zebulon

 

Wishing you’d give me a chance

Could I do it for you

Waking up romance

Between god and untrue  

For a moment, the song blasts into clashing instrumentals to release an explosion of desires that are just pent up for way to long. And yet, the song ended with those lyrics and the "untrue" was sung as if on the verge of tears. According to the Internet, the Bottlebrush symbolizes resilience and new beginnings. Are those desires reciprocated at a later point and this song is showing the despair of waiting for that chance? Or maybe the Bottlebrush just has an ironic sense of humor.   

Starling at Zebulon

Setlist: Fuss, Bottlebrush Tree, My Love, I Can Be Convinced, Quiet, See The Water, Sunbeam.

The band will be playing The Echo on July 25th.