For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, StarBenders have been unleashing their brand of dark, androgynous glam rock on Atlanta’s music scene since the band’s inception two years ago. Their new single, “Blood,” taken from their upcoming album, Heavy Petting, continues on the stylish path their platform shoes have forged.

Recorded and shot at Matt Goldman’s Glow in the Dark Studios, “Blood” starts off with a slow, almost mesmerizing bass and drum intro over which frontwoman Kimi Shelter toils and twitches like she’s casting a spell upon the ears and eyes of her audience. The chorus completely flips the song into a frenzy, speeding up the tempo, and allowing Shelter to unleash her howling vocals.

The video, in turn, focuses on the band performing, with the camera swirling and spinning around the room, matching the dizzying effect of the lyrics. In addition to the group’s lineup of Shelter (guitar/vocals), Aaron Lecesne (bass), Katie Herron (drums), and Kriss Tokaji (guitar), labelmate Brooklynn makes an appearance on keyboards, which serves as payback, if you will, for StarBenders serving as the backing band in her video for “What I Need.” All in all, it’s a solid effort from a band that’s starting to make waves in Atlanta and beyond.

Recently, I had a brief conversation with Lecesne on the band’s upcoming album. When I asked him about the title, here’s what he had to say:

“Our music in some ways celebrates youthful rebellion, and we thought Heavy Petting embodied that kind of rebellion in a sort of innocent way. And you know, there’s an undeniable sexual component to the topics we explore in our songs, anyway, so the album name fit right in with what we’re about as artists and was a good way to hint at the overall theme of the album given the subject matter of the songs.”

Heavy Petting arrives May 31 via Institution Records.

More Info
Web: starbenders.band
Facebook: @starbenders
SoundCloud: @StarBenders
Twitter: @STARBENDERS