Pre-teen fantasy Movie Star Kiss - Starting Over (Self produced) 2 stars (out of 5 stars) Reviewed: Jan. 28, 2006

Review by Tony Bonyata

Formerly known as Supercrush, the St. Louis-based rock outfit Movie Star Kiss has just released their debut full-length effort under their new moniker, aptly titled Starting Over.
On it the quartet rips through ten guitar-driven songs with the unbridled frenzy of a sugar-buzzed adolescent let loose at the local mall. The faux-punk spit of Green Day ("Teenage Fantasy") mixes with the horn-rimmed dorkiness of Weezer ("Weekend Friend" and "Big Shot") and fluffy, cotton candy pop ("Alicia"), making for an amusement ride of sorts. But unlike the killer rollercoaster that drops, spins and leaves you exasperated, exhilarated and ready for more, this feels more like a sped-up merry-go-round - the very one you tired of at about nine.
Despite all of the the band's energy (and there's plenty of it), the major fault here is the lack of any ingenuity - as everything served up here tastes like somebody else's leftovers. In fact, the intro of the closing title track is so close to The Smashing Pumpkins' "Today" it's almost unforgivable.
Funny thing is, though, these guys are actually capable of getting it right - as proved on the oil-stained garage sounds that reverb from the opening track "Getaway," where their saccharine tendencies are cut with a welcome primitive rhythm section and gritty guitars that sound as if they were imported from Detroit circa '71. It's unfortunate, however, that they aren't targeting fans of true punk or garage rock by exploring more of this, but rather catering to pre-teens who believe the type of music that fills out the rest of this disc to be the real deal. But then again, considering that the kids are eating stuff like this up like it was Cap'n Crunch, maybe they know exactly what they're doing.