Kevin Bronson on January 15th, 2019

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L.A. quartet Starcrawler make the kind of scuzzy rock that’s homage to the Stooges, glam-metal and, owing to the antics of 19-year-old frontwoman Arrow de Wilde, the unhinged theatrics of shock-rockers of the past. So it’s natural that the video for the single “Hollywood Ending” harks to Hollywood’s dirty days (and daze).

“Arrow and I almost started sowing the seeds for this video when we first met,” director Gilbert Trejo says. “One of the first things we bonded over was our shared love for old Hollywood — not ‘old Hollywood’ like Golden age 1940s Cary Grant and movie stars Hollywood, but old Hollywood like, our parents’ generations and Weetzie Bat’s version … washed out hotels and restaurants like TOI on Sunset. We bonded over freeways and 1920s apartments covered in Christmas lights. The Hollywood we both got dragged around felt magical at a young age. Freaks like my aunt Vicky, and Arrow’s uncle Jimmy (who stars as the spirit of Hollywood in the video)… John Doe and Exene’s Hollywood meets Tommy Lee and Bobby Brown’s. When we got the go ahead to make the ‘Hollywood Ending’ video, we knew exactly what type of imagery we wanted to convey. We got to bring our own favorite disappearing neighborhood back to life.”

The new single, produced by Ryan Adams, is the follow-up to the quartet’s self-titled album, released one year ago this week.

||| Watch: The video for “Hollywood Ending”

||| Live: Starcrawler is the special guest at Liily’s residency tonight at the Echo. It’s free and all-ages (doors at 8).