Video: Starcrawler, ‘I Love LA’

3
Starcrawler, from the
Starcrawler, from the "I Love LA" video

Starcrawler are the brainchild of 18-year-old singer Arrow de Wilde and guitarist Henri Cash, who we imagine watched all the right archival rock footage when they were kids (the Cramps, the Germs, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne) and, skipping the high school talent show they would have won, said “we can do that!” and rocketed straight to the stage. There, they have been anointed Next Big Thing by people who can’t wait for rock ’n’ roll to feel dangerous again — not to mention their producer, Ryan Adams, who tweeted: “This Starcrawler record is gonna peel the paint off your brain!”

Speaking of that, the quartet — de Wilde and Cash, along with bassist Tim Franco and drummer Austin Smith — announced today that their self-titled debut album would be out Jan. 19 via Rough Trade Records. With the news came the video for “I Love LA,” which follows the singles “Let Her Be” and  “Ants,” released earlier this year. The video is directed by rock photographer Autumn de Wilde, Arrow’s’s mother,  and transports the quartet from sullen employees of a donut shop/Chinese food restaurant to Hollywood Boulevard. For the uninitiated, it’s a hint of Starcrawler’s glamtastic, button-pushing live shows, where de Wilde’s slinky moves and outsized attitude have captivated fans, even as she slithers through the crowd, yowling deliciously, dripping with (fake) blood. And Cash can flat-out shred.

We’ll have five chocolate donuts, please, just like the ones we had in 1978.

||| Watch: The video for “I Love LA”

||| Live: Starcrawler play the Echo on Dec. 15 along with Skating Polly. Tickets.