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‘Starchamber’ is the brand new single from PETER CAT. This dark, blistering behemoth of a track marks both a stellar return to form and a radical new direction for the Glaswegian art pop auteurs, and is the lead single from their forthcoming second LP, also titled Starchamber.
‘Starchamber’ takes a hammer to the jaunty, twee avant-pop that Peter Cat formerly traded in – from the opening salvo of discordant, fuzzy guitar lines duelling with soaring, operatic vocals, it’s clear that we’re in entirely new sonic territory.
“Take me to the star chamber / I’ve been a very naughty boy”, goes the opening lyric, anticipating the tongue-in-cheek existential psychodrama playing out over the following three-and-a-half minutes.
There’s shades here of Frank Zappa’s caustic playfulness, combined with a jazz-inflected crushing heaviness inspired by King Crimson, keeping this tune in step with the likes of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Black Midi. All of this adds up to create a vibe that’s somehow both groovy and apocalyptic.
‘Starchamber’ is an entire short film in less than four minutes: once its final crescendo has passed, you’ll be left wondering where on earth that all came from – and where you need to go to get more of it.
“It’s a song about guilt, ultimately. About all those little accumulated bits and pieces of us that we’re deeply ashamed of, that paralyse and humiliate us. It’s also about taking a blazing torch to all that shame and guilt, and saying: not today! Accept all that, rise above it, beyond it, to a new place. Enter the Starchamber.”
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The 'Starchamber' single releases 31 January 2025, ahead of the Starchamber album on 16 May 2025.