PanSTARRS has come a long way since their debut EP "Nothingness" (published by Anywave in 2013), when the band was the solo project of Cairo-based musician Youssef Abouzeid.
Since then Youssef was joined by two other musicians, redefining PanSTARRS as a rock'n'roll band performing live and writing new material in the studio. The trio released two other LPs by their own means, dropping in the meantime English for Arabic lyrics. Their sound draws from post-punk, electronic music and krautrock to express a balanced sense of organized chaos within intermittent love melodies.
In their new album, to be released on Anywave, Youssef's melancholic vocals are balanced by vivid distorted guitars and a severe rythmic section: a bridge between the Feelies' naturalist punk-pop and DNA's mercurial noise rock.
Limited Edition Cassette with artwork by Pierre La Police available on our shop from July 13.
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A Side
1. Abyad Weswed
2. Blur
3. Masr Elgedida
4. Dor Elfo2
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B Side
5. Qalb
6. Sonic
7. Z 3aleko
8. Gesm Gedeed
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Written by PanSTARRS: Youssef Abouzeid (guitars/vocals) / Nader Abouzeid (bass) / Karim Ghazoly (drums)
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Recorded & mixed by Nader Abouzeid
Mastered by Aurelien Delamour
Artwork by Pierre La Police (Gone, Serious Publishing, 2019)
Design by Myriam Barchechat
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ANYK7003 – Anywave 2019
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Shop: https://anywave.bandcamp.com/album/panstarrs
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Reviews
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The Quietus
"Abouzeid's singing in echoing Arabic is now central to the group’s sound. Every word is soft around the edges, the language’s inherent breathiness giving off something potently ecstatic."
Scene Noise
"PanSTARRS managed to put out an Arabic record that delivers a modern, fresh and contemporary interpretation of alternative rock and grunge."
X Silence (FR)
"Enregistré au Caire, le groupe sait faire ce que l'on appelle communément du rock indé (...), ils arrivent à faire passer simplement toute l'énergie de leurs mélodies sans trop en faire, sans trop en montrer même si on se rend bien compte qu'ils en ont sous la pédale."
Medculture (IT)
"With every new release, his music goes a step further, but voices and strings in the echo chamber continue to play a prominent role."
Noisey VICE (FR)
"They play synthwave sung in Arabic, build their own effects pedals and trying to exist within the tiny Egyptian scene."
The Wire (UK)
Featured on the Wire UK's music charts in their September 2016 issue #391.
Monocle (UK)
"(...) musicians like Youssef Abouzeid – whose band, ‘PanSTARRS’, layers intricate guitar work on top of a heavy bass synth and whose latest EP was one of the most listened-to albums on Dandin last year."
Filter Magazine (US)
"His vocals are a wonderful asset, creating a beautiful balance between upbeat techno and delicate indie tones."
The Guardian (UK)
"This gripping compilation includes the intense, bassheavy 21st century folk music of PanSTARRS..."
Bandcamp Daily
“This solo project-turned-experimental rock band sounds like it could have drifted into orbit from some distant planet. (...) Youssef Abouzeid shares existential insights and intimate entreaties in a dispassionate murmur, backed by cranking-and-snapping drum loops.”
Cairo Scene (EG)
"When I saw PanSTARRS once again at Vent in 2014, I was nothing short of flabbergasted! They mostly played songs never before heard on either of their previous EPs with a full on, robust throttle of a sound, almost like The Jesus and Mary Chain on a heavy dose of Speed, incorporating Punk elements and faster than ever before! Intense energy went back and forth between the audience and a band that was simply reinvented to total, unreserved potential."