After a handful of 7″s, the first full-length record from Omaha, NE’s Cursive serves as a fitting precursor to the band’s later body of work. Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes lays down the framework for the Cursive method: delicate guitars that erupt into frenzied explosions, a rhythm section that consistently keeps each track barreling forward, and the harrowing vocal contributions of Tim Kasher, whose powerful voice personifies the emotional turmoil that the record encapsulates. Unlike some of Cursive’s later work, Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes does not rely on a singular concept to tell its story. Nonetheless, tracks like “Ceilings Crack” and the unyielding “Downhill Racers” tell tales all their own, though the topics do tend to concentrate on subjects like retribution and a sense of being overwhelmed. The latter track also features one of the record’s most striking moments, during which Kasher’s cacophonous screams are met by the harmonious background vocals of original guitarist Stephen Pederson in an exercise in contrasts that the band would continue to develop as time went on. At points stark and hollow but always building toward something more engaging and momentous, this record features the first hints of a great band ready to emerge, and shows that while they moved on to more complicated things, Cursive was originally run on nothing but raw power. – Peter J. D’Angelo
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