Review Summary: Stellar Kart fail to leave a lasting impression, other than on a few tracks. But they still have promise for a bright future.
I was at a minor gospel music festival in the summer of '07. This festival wasn't that big or great, but it's cool to check out gospel artists that are liking music, and to see who is good at what. The people who were hosting the festival had been giving out free things all day, but none of it really piqued my interested. A lady then called out if anyone wanted a free wristband to come up and get one. So I did. It had Stellar Kart written on it and the package said that it was free with the purchase of the album “ We Can't Stand Sitting Down”. When I got home I downloaded a few of their songs and liked the band well enough. Their music was high energy with a relevant message to my then 11 year old self. They quickly faded out of my life.
Fast forward to 2010. I've become someone whose life revolves around music and what that does to me. (I'm “Sputnik's portal to mainstream”). Stellar Kart's latest effort “Everything is Different Now” was put out digitally in 2009, but came out hard copy in early March. I decided to give the album a listen and see if the band had matured into one that I my more mature self could relate to. Something that had more fluent drums and overall a thicker sound.
I wasn't wowed and I wasn't disappointed with this album. The album starts out with a typical Stellar Kart opener, one that brings forth it's relevant message in a catchy way. The piano drives this song to make it's tempo more apparent. The “whoa-oh's” in the background stick in your head while the lyrics are a message of praising Jesus. It all sounds tight and good, but something seems to be missing. The power this band once achieved with simple but effective melodies like of that on “Jesus Loves You” , doesn't seem to be here. “We Shine” makes an attempt to be upbeat but the fact that the drums are taking a back burner role with the over-production bothers me. The guitars aren't thick enough for to make a real statement that makes your heart flutter. The vocals also seem to be scaled back to less hitting-of-the-high-notes and more of a -go-with-the-safe-choice approach. Interesting.
The title track is the first song on this disk to flicker back on the light of hope for the band. The strong melody and tight harmonies fuel that fire. The chorus is effect and easily relateable. The build up from the bridge to the final chorus is cliche but well used in Stellar Kart's music.
There's a cover of Yellowcard's “Only One” on here, and while it's okay it in no way lives up to the original. The violins are missing to bring the power to the solo before the final verse, and the sky-rocketing notes in the chorus are watered down and mellowed out. It's disappointing. This band could have brought this song up to be at least on par with the original, based on their old stuff. A track I will surely skip when it comes up on shuffle.
The overall standout track of the entire album is a Matt Redman cover of “You Never Let Go”. The band fully shows it's entire potential with this song. They make it better than the original. It's the best cover of this song that I've ever heard. The acoustic strumming that starts up and slowly builds up to the inspirational chorus (that gets me through hard days) truly shows the growth of this band, how little it may be, it is there. “And if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear?” The sincerity in the vocal performance tugs at your heart tightly. The bridge is executed with quality and grace. I can imagine thousands of teens swaying to this song during a worship service. This is a good thing. Stellar Kart's infamous build-ups-to-the-chorus are fluent here. This song makes me satisfied with this record.
Overall I'd say Stellar Kart has a way to go, but they still have promise that they can keep growing and maturing. They're talented guys and I'll be excited to see what comes out of their amps next. 3/5
