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xoxo

by Star Matriarch

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about

XOXO, the 4th single off Star Matriarch’s forthcoming LP Red Ship, is a lush pop marvel that encapsulates the exquisite agony of an inaccessible crush. You love him, but he’s taken. And you can’t say a thing. Damn.

As with her previous, more hard hitting releases, she opts for sounds you can feel on your arm hairs or kidneys - scratchy melodramatic strings, chunky guitars, plush flutes, punch-through-the-wall drums. It's this uber sensory experience that gives it an 'awesome ethnic wedding' vibe, as one white dude put it. Star Matriarch is a master at delivering that 'hurt so good' feeling.

And her voice. It's more sweetly achy than pithy this time, almost Marilyn Monroe. It’s like if Joni Mitchell had an alt-rock phase, got drunk, and overshared about Mr. Inaccessible while dancing at a Bollywood club. Even though she’s got a guy of her own. “He’s there to distract me at night | But he’s not you | Though I enjoy him alright”.

lyrics

We met just days after you got married
You said you loved her but I hoped it was in haste
We walked, drank coffee,
conversed
self-consciously

He was just as unavailable as you
He tried hard to take all I wanted for you
I wanted to please, to be what you've been to me

Oh you, you're a clown and you
know how to bring out the best in me
But you have a home that's too
happy for it be right
to let you know

Years pass, I'm still writing songs
Years pass, I'm so proud and I'm strong
I see you, I laugh, I am joyful
Then I cry on the phone

Yea, he is there to distract me at night
But he's not you
Though I enjoy him alright
I see you, I laugh, I am joyful
Then I cry on the phone

Oh, you. You're a clown and you
now how to bring out the best in me
But you have a home that's too happy for it to be right
to let you know

So you can never know
I will never tell
You'll never here me say
I love you

What would you say
What would you say?
What would you say
To me?

Oh, I don't wanna know

credits

released November 20, 2023
Carol Bui (Star Matriarch) - vox, guitar, flute, drums
Jenny Petrow - cello
Winston Yu - violin
Aaron Leitko - bass
TJ Lipple - engineering, mixing
Vlado Meller - mastering

Recorded mostly at Inner Ear in Arlington, VA 2009ish, with new vocals at Carol's house in the Pac NW circa pandemic.

Portrait of Carol by Tien Taylor
Album Art by Carol

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about

Star Matriarch image

Star Matriarch Tacoma, Washington

Carol Bui, aka Star Matriarch, weaves experiences as a 'raqs sharqi' dancer, ex-whore, and ex-punk-wannabe into thrilling musical worlds with a delicate balance of raw power and vulnerability.

After a 10+ year hiatus, Carol returns with updates and additions to her 2011 LP 'Red Ship', slated for reissue in vinyl format on Exotic Fever Records sometime 2024 ... more

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