and so here we are, as i feel obliged to say just about every day this year, into the "double digit" months of the year. or another year, look you see. that whole thing about how time "flies" as you get older is so very scarily true. been an unusual year, too, where that "quiet normal life" has evaded me. nope, none of this is relevant to what i wished to post.
every year i, for some reason of nostalgia (mostly), do all that i can to purchase at least one (1) "physical format" single released in that year. not as easy as one may think, assuming that the purchase is going to be of a recording i actually want. not a great deal has come up in that respect this year (2025), but i am very much going to consider this boss live EP off of KillerStar as counting.
if you are (somewhat) confused by that actual decent quality image above appearing here on this blog, fear not, for i have not raised my skill or standards. that is the image what came with the digital download of this EP (or single, to validate myself), which i got at the same time as the very impressive 10" record of it.
technically i suppose this doesn't strictly speaking (or "officially") count as a single, since the overall playing time goes north of 20 minutes. a rule change was made, i think late 80s or early 90s, to limit the length so as to stop record labels effectively giving an album worth of material for the price of a single, so as to boost charts. when the singles charts mattered, and since them what do the singles charts managed to contrive to corrupt it forever, well, f*** them and f*** their rules, this is a single.
getting quite good at getting distracted here. anyway, KillerStar, and this magnificent live EP. yes, go on then, let me once drop that i had the good fortune to see this band live at the 100 Club earlier this year. one can even get a "digital download" of a single recorded at the gig i was at, but enough with the links added here for now. when by chance i saw that they were releasing a live EP, i thought yeah, i will get the digital download thing of that. and then i saw that the limited edition (250, i believe) blue 10" vinyl would (along with the download) come to £15 (ish), i went well why not.
saying that KillerStar seem quite content to exist under the radar feels misleading, for i have no radar. i mean, it's only twice i have bought music magazines in the last decade or so, and then only as i wanted the free tapes (discs) what came with them. for Radio, well, i am of an age for Radio 2, and they are only really any good at telling me "old" favourites have something new out. but still, you know, it really surprises me that there's not considerably more attention paid to this band by the world at large. they truly are that good.
for all i know they are quite content, and confident, that the "right" audience shall find them. no idea if i was an intended demographic, but nonetheless delighted that i am here. there's no flogging themselves to be "viral", or media / radio / television attention, nor (so far as i know) selling the licencing of their music for games, what have you. it does genuinely feel they are a band quite content doing gigs in very specific venues alone, making ludicrously good music. not sure about anyone else but they are, in this rather odd if not strange world we have created, exactly what i need.
the song selection here is unquestionably superb. a highlight for me is the inclusion of Go (Hold On Tight), which i can't quite say why touches and affects me so, it just does. but don't let that distract you in any way at all - every song here is a triumph. since playing vinyl is tricky for me, here in exile in my place of lodgings, the tape (disc) i have made of the download is getting a lot of play. not bad, since it competes with the excellent new Suede album for airtime.
how do i describe the KillerStar sound for you? mostly by suggesting you give them a spin. it's really the best way to find out, and this era of "streaming" does have advantages. the best i can do is say they have that quintessential "classic rock" sound. no, they are not like some "throwback", i mean they have the qualities of music that one finds in records north of 40, 50 or more years old that are cherished still. indeed i do understand that's quite a statement, but i stand by it.
bit of an afterthought this (the above picture) is, but still. for some reason it might be that some of you don't have a concept of what, exactly, a 10" single (EP) is, or what that is in scale to other formats. well, yes, it's 10" (ten inches) in diameter. so you have a rough idea, from top left going across, that's a standard size (5") CD single, in this instance Falling off of Julee Cruise and as featured in Twin Peaks. next to that is a cassette single, sometimes called "cassingle" or "singlette" (ZTT in particular got quite picky on the name), with this one being Sledgehammer off of Peter Gabriel. i may well be wrong, but i suspect, or think, one of the tracks on there is exclusive to the tape. big 12" is the beautiful looking 2023 reissue of True Faith off of New Order. show me a "stream" that you can hold and admire like that and i will be interested. next row, or below the CD single, is a standard 7", with the example here being the magnificent A View To A Kill off of Duran Duran and from the James Bond film of same name. bottom is the KillerStar 10" single, and then an A4 size magazine just to fill space.
indeed i probably should have put (at least) some effort in and included a 3" CD single here, as well as a video single. whereas i have examples of both, i could not be bothered getting them out (so to speak) for a picture. at the risk of yet more links, and if you are all that interested, here is a recent 3" CD single what i procured. from a quick search there's a vague, brief look at what a video single is right here. yes, also there is such a thing as a DVD single, but that would (usually) be the same size and packaging as a regular CD single.
nice leaflet which they included with the record, which i thought it would scan in and share here. oh, recently i "had" to get a flatbed scanner, but that's a different story for a different time.
were it so that i have piqued your interest, then here's the link for the digital download and vinyl, if any copies of the latter remain. on that note, i really don't care if it is "scarce", "rare" or "worth something one day". to me it is where i am right now, i wish for it and need it in my life. pretty sure you can play the songs online off of that link, as well as look at (and listen to) their other releases. most probably on all the other "usual" streaming things, too.
cheers for reading my usual mishmash of words, and hopefully what you've taken from this is that KillerStar are a class band well worth your time listening to. if you like them, please support them and buy the music!
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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