| Starbenders | |
| Genre: | Glam rock[1] |
| Years Active: | 2013–present |
| Label: | Sumerian Records, Institution Records |
| Past Members: | Kyle Gordon Katie Herron Emily Moon |
| Current Members: | Kimi Shelter Aaron Lecesne Kriss Tokaji Qi Wei |
Starbenders are an American rock band from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.[2] The group was formed in 2013 lead singer and guitarist Kimi Shelter and Aaron Lecesne.[3] [4] After adding guitarist Kriss Tokaji and drummer Emily Moon, Starbenders were signed to Nico Constantine’s label, Institution Records.[5] With Constantine as their producer, the band has released three EPs, one full-length, one 7-inch, and six singles on Institution Records and two singles and two full-lengths on Sumerian Records.
Starbenders released their self-titled debut EP[6] in 2014 to positive reception[7] with the lead-off single Touch[8] and quickly followed with the singles Brake,[9] Paper Beats Rock,[10] and Powder[11] in 2015 while touring the United States extensively.[12] The band spent the remainder of 2015 recording 2016's full-length Heavy Petting, which was released by Institution Records. The record was engineered by Matt Goldman at Glow-In-The-Dark Studios] and Jeff Bakos at Studio B, and mixed by Mark Needham and Will Brierre.
The band led with the single Blood and released a music video for the track,[13] followed by videos for Paper Beats Rock, Powder,[14] and Time Stops,[15] which won "Best Music Video" at the 2016 Oregon Film Awards.[16]
Starbenders continued to be active through 2017, touring and releasing the singles Far From Heaven[17] and So High,[18] (again mixed by Needham). In late 2017 the band began work on their new EP JULIAN and released the title track Julian as a single in advance of the EP's official release in January 2018.[19]
Starbenders toured extensively in 2018 in support of JULIAN, notably touring alongside Charlotte Kemp Muhl's UNI,[20] Rosegarden Funeral Party on the Children Of The Night tour,[21] and Alice in Chains in support of the grunge icons' new record Rainier Fog.[22]
In 2018 Starbenders signed a distribution deal with Japanese label B.I.J Records for Japanese releases.[23] In April 2019, the band released the EP Japanese Rooms and embarked on an extensive tour of Japan to support the EP.[24] Despite only being available in physical copies in Japan, the EP was named LA Weekly's "Album Of The Week."[25]
In May 2019, it was announced that Starbenders had signed to Sumerian Records, and the band's first single and video on the label, "London," was released to positive reception.[26] [27] The band then embarked on a US tour with labelmates Palaye Royale.[28] Starbenders continued to tour through 2019, supporting Jamie Bower's band Counterfeit on a North American tour and releasing the single "Holy Mother" in September.[29]
Starbenders began 2020 with a US tour with Asking Alexandria frontman Danny Worsnop.[30] On February 14, they released their debut full-length on Sumerian Records, Love Potions, produced by longtime producer Nico Constantine.[31] Reflecting on the thirteen months it took the band to record the album, Kimi Shelter revealed, "We really just put our all into it. We wanted to come in old-school with it, and make sure that we were really honouring the ghosts of rock'n'roll past. It was frustrating, but the process really made us. It was both parts: beauty and pain."[32] They collaborated with Remington Leith from Palaye Royale on Depeche Mode cover Precious.
Love Potions was later re-released as a digital version with 7 additional bonus tracks, including the bonus track from the Japanese version True Love, an acoustic version of Bitches be witches and a remix of Push (both have already been released with the singles before).
In April 2021 they digitally released an acoustic version of Time Stops and a coupling track together with The Mavens and Lilith Czar as singles for the soundtrack of American musical drama television series Paradise City. In August 2021 they released the digital single No one listened.
After that they intensely toured several countries. Their tour included a headliner US tour with 22 dates across the country and a their third tour in Japan in 2022 which was originally planned for 2021, but postponed to 2022. They were joined on the 10 dates in Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagoya by Japanese artists such as 88Kasyo Junrei, SPARK!!SOUND!!SHOW!! and THE BOHEMIANS. In August 2022 they announced they would be the opening act for Palaye Royale's North American leg of their Fever Dream tour consisting of 25 dates. Later they announced they would make their European debut as opening act for the Fever Dream tour alongside English rock band Yonaka on 34 dates. This was followed by a Summer tour across the US together with The Haunt, several festival dates and a UK tour in October 2023.
Prior to the release of their third full length album Take back the night on September 22nd 2023, they released Seven white horses, If you need it, Blood moon, The Game and Sex as singles in 2022 and 2023. The 13 track album also included a cover of Alice Cooper's Poison. The Game reached #33 of the Rock Charts on Rock Radio.
In February 2024, drummer Emily Moon left. They also announced a US tour with Nita Strauss and Diamante. New drummer Qi Wei made her debut appearance with the band on this tour, and was confirmed as a member.[33]
| Year | Peak Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Main. Rock [34] | |||
| "Brake" | 2016 | — | Heavy Petting |
| "Blood" | — | ||
| "So High" | 2017 | — | rowspan="4" |
| "Far From Heaven" | — | ||
| "Down and Out" | — | ||
| "1969" | |||
| "Julian" | — | Julian EP | |
| "21st Century Orphan" | 2018 | — | Japanese Rooms EP |
| "Never Lie 2 Me" | 2019 | — | |
| "London" | 2019 | — | Love Potions |
| "Holy Mother" | — | ||
| "Cover Me" | 2020 | — | |
| "One of Us" | — | ||
| "Push" | — | ||
| "Can't Cheat Time" | — | ||
| "Bitches Be Witches" | — | ||
| "No One Listened" | 2021 | — | |
| "Seven White Horses" | 2022 | — | Take Back the Night |
| "If You Need It" | — | ||
| "Blood Moon" | — | ||
| "The Game" | 2023 | 39 | |
| "Sex" | — | ||
| "We're Not OK" | — | ||
| "Body Talk" | — | ||
| "Cherry Wine" | — | ||