Virginia Beach’s own Starcoast is not your average group of guys making noise. Starcoast is the real deal. Members Tom Hunter (guitar/vocals), Jim Hunter (bass/harmonies), and David Johns (drums/percussion) have been releasing indie rock tunes together since 2015. Inspired after watching a meteor shower during a late-night beach walk in their hometown, Starcoast was born striving to create songs that are less fleeting and larger than life experiences. Together the trio toured the U.K. and most recently have been keeping their fans entertained through their own quarantine TV show via Instagram.
Starcoast is indie perfection, and their latest release could not fit the bill better. “Believe in Love” began as more than just a single, but as a movement created by the band. The movement started first by asking visual artists to conjure up their interpretation of the song into an artistic creation (available for viewing through their “gallery” on Instagram). While getting listeners involved by tagging #believeinlove and @starcoast.music in a post or story expressing their version of love, the movement is still growing. The group explains that “the word “love” has many preconceived connotations, so [they] want to visually represent how it means so many different things to people.” Starcoast is a band that strives to be one with their audience, getting them involved and understanding their stories in conjunction with Starcoast’s music. Their “main focus behind all [of] their creations though is to give their audience a space in time where fans can open their minds, release their worries, and be present in soundscapes and rousing rhythms…” Being sure to not to restrict or limit themselves by creating genre-specific movement, Starcoast sticks to leaving their listener with an “optimistic imprint.”
“Believe in Love” is a jam nearly everyone could bop their heads to. While the track begins with the sweet somber notes of (Tom) Hunter and a trebly repeating guitar riff, distortion kicks on, and Johns’ thunders in to create an infectious chorus. One I’ve had stuck in my head since I first listened to this track three weeks ago. And it just gets better, at 1:37, where Starcoast opts out of a programmed rock guitar solo and exchanges it with an expectation-defying saxophone solo. At 2:25, all instruments stack up to create a beautiful build-up before an effortless fade out.
LONG STORY SHORT: Between creating a genuine connection and integration with their fans to contagious choruses, Starcoast just straight-up rocks.
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