The Starlight Mints

The Starlight Mints, composed of lead vocalist Alan Vest and four other members, have released one album every three years since 2000. Their newest creation, Drowaton, was released a few weeks ago and has been championed by music critics, journalists and fans.

The 12 songs on Drowaton do not have a black cat with “boomerangs between her toes.” There’s no song that sounds like an animated xylophone. And there’s no standout dreamy track. Instead, the listener is bombarded by straight-ahead psychedelic pop with variations on one instrument, the guitar. The songs diverge and dive into different chord progressions, keeping you on your toes. To put it mildly, Drowaton is a piece of symphonic majesty made up of primary colors and pinwheels, whistles and waltzing piano lines. The album can be compared to a Tom Robbins character – hilarious and esoteric, out of place in the world, under the influence of drugs and undeniably beautiful.

Let’s start with a clarifying question: How do you deal with critics unceasingly comparing you guys to The Flaming Lips when there are very few legitimate comparisons to be made?

You know, we grew up being friends with those guys. We’ve always been experimental but I think we’ve tried to stay as musically far away from them as possible. I think a lot of it has to do with journalists just lumping us together because we’re from the same area. There’s really no one else they can do that with.

Exactly. So I imagine that has been a point of frustration.

Yeah, but the Lips are so huge, you know, and we’re so used to it, we’re just like “whatever,” you know? I think the people who listen to both groups will know that the similarities are very few. I like those guys. I like Steven’s drum style a lot, but I don’t listen to them that much.

How do you pronounce the new album’s title? Is it “Drowaton”?

“Drowaton,” yeah. Drowaton, Drowaton. It’s not a word.

Does it mean anything for you guys then?

Not really, it was just an experiment with us. We wanted to [laughs], we wanted to put a word that you could Google and nothing would come up, and then see how it grows. Now from day to day “Drowaton” is up to like 80,000. There’s more meaning to it, but it’s just a word, you know. I don’t really believe in album titles. I think if you listen to the music, the music is going to tell the story. Some of my favorite records have bad album titles, or the bands themselves even have bad band names.

Could you give me an example?

I’m just saying in general. It’s like Sonic Youth. I always hated that name for a band, but once I heard their music it was awesome.

I think Drowaton is your most ambitious album to date in terms of eclectic use of style and wordplay. Was there anything that you did differently this time around in crafting Drowaton?

I think the biggest difference was that I did most of the work by myself at home or in my office. Drums and half the bass and half the guitars were done in the studio, everything else was literally done in my home studio.

Even the piano lines?

Ryan [Lindsey; keyboards] and I actually went to Oklahoma University and sort of broke in there and stole their grand piano for a few hours. But that was the only thing we had to record elsewhere. And it was a bitch too, because we only had two mics and they weren’t really balanced, so we had to sort of experiment with where to place the mics. But it was good time.

I really love your falsetto on the opening track, “Pumpkin.” And it makes me wish you’d do a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” Was there any inspiration for the vocals on Drowaton?

I just wanted to try something new.

Was there a particular vibe you were aiming for, like soul funneled through Ray Davies?

Sort of. I’d just never tried a falsetto before, and I thought it would be fun and different. The last song is kind of the same way. But “Pumpkin” was a lot of fun because I had mapped it out a long time ago, and we changed the arrangement on that song three or four times and we kept altering the ending, and I’m not sure I like the ending that we have, but, you know, it’s a good starter.

Also on Drowaton, you have the song “Pearls,” which is subtitled “Submarine #2.” And back on The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of, the opening track is called “Submarine #3.” Why the regression? Why submarines?

Long ago I wrote these three songs, and at that time I was really into going through dictionaries and picking out words. “Submarine #3” happens to be the first I wrote. “Submarine #2” was the last of them. “Submarine #1” is pretty crappy so I don’t know if that will ever see the light of day.

You could put it out as a B-side maybe.

Yeah, definitely. Actually I don’t even know where a copy of it is, it’s been such a long time.

The Starlight Mints have never released an EP, discounting the “Popsicle” single. Why just the LPs?

I think it’s just a timing an issue. We’re thinking about putting out an EP later this year, because this is the first time we’ve actually had songs that we mixed but didn’t use. It really just depends on the label and what they want to do.

Let’s continue with that thought and talk about labels for a second. Each album that you’ve released so far has been on a different label, and currently you are on Barsuk Records. Have you finally found a home with Barsuk, or are there plans to head elsewhere?

The other labels weren’t so financially secure, which is why that happened. And that’s sort of why it took us so long to put out Drowaton, because we had to work out the deals and figure out our financial contract. Things are going pretty well so far this year, and with each album we build our personal equipment up, you know. I mean, now I have much more mobility to finish the song without going to the studio, whereas before I didn’t have that capacity. But I mean we’re pretty much a do-it-yourself band. Andy, our drummer, is the alternate manager for the band. It helps when you have a manager that really cares and is invested in your music. I think being self-sufficient has helped us a lot along the way.

It seems like a good Who song would work well as a cover for The Starlight Mints. Maybe “The Real Me,” or “I Can’t Reach You.”

[Laughs] Hey, I like The Who, but the issue is time. We were going to cover a song by a band called Paris Combo, I had my girlfriend translate the lyrics and all that, but it’s just so time-consuming since it takes us long enough to just cut our own tracks, you know.

Do The Starlight Mints have a catch phrase?

We used to, but you kind of caught me off guard and I can’t remember it now. We just do our thing, and try to keep our sound going, you know.

What is your thing exactly?

Well, I mean this is what I do for a living. Things are going well, so there are a couple of movies coming out this year where we’ll be on the soundtrack.

Are you going to write new songs, or use ones from the album?

I’m working on that. I’ve got some really good connections in L.A., and we’re working things out, so maybe I’ll have a new job here shortly [laughs]. I mean, that’s really the goal for me personally. Getting into scoring and stuff like that, whether it’s for big productions or small-budget films. Singing is the hardest part for me, and vocals are a necessity for The Starlight Mints, but with movies I can focus more on my music, so it’s something I’m really interested in. Maybe it will happen soon, maybe it will happen way in the future. I don’t know. I’m just hoping it will happen.

The Starlight Mints will play 9:30 p.m. tonight at Dante’s with Dios Malos and The Octopus Project. Tickets are $5.