Dive verdict: 3.5 of 5 stars

The prevailing characteristic of Minor Stars’ The Death of the Sun in the Silver Sea is the consistent rumble of distorted guitars and bass. Like a roiling sea before a storm rolls in, the instrumentation churns and crackles, maintaining an electrical current that wavers in intensity throughout the record.

Unlike other debuts, this album never lulls its listener into want of distraction. Instead, violent riffs give way to straightforward vocals in a constant give and take that resembles the push and pull of a riptide. There are few markedly different sounds from track to track, but the group sustains a sense of purpose that precludes any monotony.

Though the band proves deft at navigating between violence, tumult, and momentary calm, these fluctuations aren’t groundbreaking. If anything, the album demonstrates that the Stars needs to delve further below the surface of the chaos. The record quickly relays a sense of disorder, but once the first few tracks have reinforced the mood, it fails to reach any tangible pinnacle.

If the album follows the trajectory of a hurricane, the listener never reaches the eye of the storm. Intensity builds without any denouement, and the end of the album leaves only questions as to what kind of phenomenon you experienced.

Through a well-crafted blend of fuzz and urgency, Minor Stars’ debut rollicks its way through nine songs that balance chaos with resolute bass lines and Eric Wallen’s penetrating vocals. It may not quell the listener’s urge to follow the band to the peak of its epic journey, but The Death of the Sun in the Silver Sea proves that Minor Stars have many miles left to travel.

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