CD Review
Far Star
3-song EP taken from Broken Down and Wandering

Far Star vocalist Shannon Barrett cries, on the opening cut “Welcome to the Show,” “I’ve turned away and set to fire/ all my idols;” though his sincerity is endearing, it’s hard to believe he’s completely incinerated his golden calves, as his band sounds like a tribute band to various 90’s rock acts.  Plainly speaking, Far Star sounds like so many other bands mimicking the Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, or even Matchbox 20.      Far Star isn’t a horror to hear, far from it in fact.  Barrett possess a clear and supple voice, though his earnestness becomes mundane fairly quickly.  Guitarist Lumpkin (yes, that’s his name) waxes shiny guitar riffs all over the band’s songs, but the wax is called “Billy Corgan.”  And the sheen wears thin.  It’s only on the final song, “Open Apology” that the band takes off, opening up a slightly more colorful tone than on the previous two songs (“Welcome..” and “It Doesn’t Faze Me”).  But it’s not enough to cause one’s ears to perk up.  
The guys in Far Star obviously have ability, that’s not the concern.  There just seems to be no effort to alter a set course, turning what, for more famous 90’s bands, was gold, into fool’s gold. Far Star rocks, sure, but it’s not enough to save the band from the scrap heap of “wannabe’s” proliferating the DFW music scene.  

            -David Elliott