Brazen Texan pups YOUNG HEART ATTACK just get better and better. Although debut album mothership "Mouthful Of Love" has already yielded two solidly impressive singles in "Misty Rowe" and "Tommy Shots", "Starlite" is the one that screams 'Hit!' in the kind of neon-lit lettering you couldn't shoot out with a dozen blunderbusses.
So what happens? OK, it cheekily apes the sequenced bit of The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" at both intro and outro; Chris Hodge and Jennifer Stephens' indulge in some call'n'response stuff that must verge on the illegal; the tune's simply undeniable and the guitar solo at the end would even have Joe Perry tipping his hat in approval. Shit, even the friggin' tambourines sound impossibly cool. Who decreed this delicious, old-fashioned boogie was cool again? Who Goddamn cares, say YHA, knowing it never really went outta fashion in such capable hands.
This being YHA, the B-sides are worthwhile, too. The mooted cover of X's "We're Desperate" due to back up "Tommy Shots" finally appears here, and it's actually more than acceptable. Jennifer and Chris do their best John'n'Exene and the band pound out the original's bastardised rockabilly with some gusto. All together now: "Our whole fuckin' life is a wreck!"
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Final tune "Dig In" ain't quite so distinguished, but even a two-chord, one-trick pony sounds OK with this bunch, and the insertion of some strategic fruity Hammond organ again lifts this one above the morass. The talented bastards.
By this stage, you've probably gathered YHA rock W&H world. "Starlite" is the very epitome of old-fashioned cool writ large and sounds drop dead gorgeous. They're a wicked thrill, sure, but they're no one night stand either, so prepare for long-term commitment after the initial seduction.
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