Newish: Stars Like Fleas, “Karma's Hoax”

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[Shannon Fields, barbecuing at his house.]

“Karma's Hoax” is not the only song on The Ken Burns Effect that journeys the vast gulfs between tempered chamber pop and nettles of organic noise, but it has the distinction of being the album's favorite son. Shannon Fields is the divining rod around which Stars Like Flea's dectet derives its original song concepts and structures. He was happy to know I liked this particular track:

Karma’s Hoax is my favorite as well… It was the first or second thing written for this record and maybe the piece that I spent the longest on – it is the closest to my heart probably. Which is a fruity thing to say, right?

Totally fruity. Good thing the man knows how to use a grill. While Stars like Fleas already released The Ken Burns Effect on a French label called Talitres, the album sees its stateside release on June 3 via Hometapes. If you live within ten hours of New York City, you can probably still catch their show in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at Studio B tonight, where they're opening for Parts and Labor and Yacht.