Blake Starkey - Perfect Phantasy

Blake Starkey

Perfect Phantasy
self-released; 2016

​3.5 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Blake Starkey is a former drummer for Bears Doing Murder and current solo artist who released Perfect Phantasy. Perfect Phantasy is a demo quality release that contains pop/rock songs. Starkey is a one man band but it sounds like much more on the EP. Overdubbing is nothing new and requires no talent to pull off in 2017 but being a multi-instrumentalist requires a lot of talent.

​Starkey handles bass, drums, guitars, vocals and anything else from what I read. It’s impressive not only because of the range but because he is composing parts separately. I wouldn't say he's a virtuoso on any of the instruments but he does enough to make the songs work. 

​He begins with “Trainwreck.” It opens with a superfluous sample before blasting into the song. The song is basic garage rock 101. It’s catchy and fun but not particularly challenging or experimenting out of basic pop structure. 

Up next is “Bloodlust” which is melodic and pulls back the reins a bit. The vocal performance is strong and I thought the vocal harmonies sounded great. “Fly” has a slight ’80s pop vibe while “Forever Haunted” is more punk based with a good amount of energy. I thought the highlight was “All I Need.” HIs vocals sound exceptional on this song and the chorus is single worthy. On top of that it felt the most distinct out of the batch.

Starkey’s style felt general to me. The songs were well written and the delivery was solid but it didn’t stick in the sense that I would have trouble remembering his song if I heard it a couple of weeks down the road. 

I think one aspect to improve would be the production. The EP has a raw, homemade feel which works to impress your friends but probably won’t work as well if you are trying to gain a national or global presence. I think upping the production value on his next effort should be something that takes priority. 

Overall, this EP is far from perfect but it is enjoyable and also impressive in what he achieved more or less by himself. Recommended.