Drowaton

iTunes Review

Yes, the Starlight Mints are geographic neighbors of the Flaming Lips, but about the only thing the two bands share, really, is a fondness for mind-bending lyrics. Where the Lips thrive in a black- light haze of lysergic weirdness, the Mints are more ... minty. Like a brisk, spring breeze, their songs crackle and pop with a youthful, fresh energy, and an almost naïve insouciance. Eschewing the trap of falling neatly into one indie pop genre, their brand of music is for those with larger appetites, who want a taste of it all: brassy horns ride atop elephantine beats, fuzzy synth lines, and Allan Vest’s squirrelly falsetto on “Pumpkin;” the ‘60s spirit of Village Green-era Kinks drives the sunny “Torts” and the melancholy “Sidewalk;” and the spidery, string-driven instrumental “Rhino Stomp” and the melodramatic title track showcase a flair for cinematic vision. But guitars chomp and jab on “Pearls” and “The Bee,” in fairly straightforward indie rock fashion, and the stellar “Inside of Me” blends pianos, strings, and tremeloed guitars into a perfect pop nugget, to be found alongside the best tracks by bands like Spoon, the Shins and Apples In Stereo.