Gah: stellastarr*/Wild Light/The Postmarks @ Rock & Roll Hotel

I. The Perils Of *dom

Somewhere between stellastarr*’s self-titled semibreakthrough and Civilized, its latest, self-released effort, the New York band went from benign and enjoyable indie bubblegum to disposable Guitar Hero rock. That much was clear, anyway, at the group’s packed show at Rock & Roll Hotel Friday with Wild Light and The Postmarks. Here is a band that long has inspired easy dismissal, and after three albums seems to have ironed out all idiosyncrasy. The crowd—rollicking, fist-pumping, high-fiving—couldn’t have asked for anything more.

I don’t mean to sound flip. In 2003, stellastarr*’s debut was derivative, sometimes involving stuff that—with its blatant debt to Talking Heads and Pixies—arrived during exactly the right moment of post-punk and college-rock revival. That album’s singles, “Jenny” and “My Coco,” were mainstays of my iPod for months. So I was somewhat nonplussed when stellastarr*’s hour-plus set Friday produced no Proustian flashback to younger days.

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