Country-flavoured indie and lush harmonies in London band’s impressive debut.
If it is a truth universally acknowledged that a singer-songwriter in possession of a large songbook must be in search of a band, then Oisean Burnett has gone about things in the right way. Following a move from his native Scotland to London in 2024, he papered the musicians’ hangs with posters seeking bandmates, and Starter Car is the happy result. Their debut album, Afterlight, follows the release of four previous singles, with opening track Throwing Down serving as the fifth.
A busy live band, Starter Car have built a following in relatively quick time, and videos of gigs at places like The Windmill in Brixton and The Shacklewell Arms show a core band of guitars, bass and drums. The album was recorded in the summer of 2025 and features a wide pool of accomplished players. Production and mixing were in the hands of Joe Futák, and the mastering was done by Jason Mitchell, the overall result being a delightful blend of folk- and country-influenced indie that should appeal to lovers of Wilco and MJ Lenderman.
Those Bandmates Wanted posters seem to have produced astonishing results, and it’s worth celebrating the individual musicians found on the album. All tracks feature the voice and guitar of Burnett, Dougal James on bass, piano, and vocals, alongside Maggie McGuire contributing drums and backing vocals. Futák adds piano, slide guitar, organ and mellotron; Sophia Bartlett and Kay Kimura-Dickinson play fiddle/violin, Joe Sharman adds guitar, multi-instrumentalist Michael Rea (Symbol Soup) is on banjo, and there are more backing vocals from Bex Vines, Christie Gardner and, on Watered Down, from Oisean’s own father, Seoras Burnett.
That looks like a lot of names on the payroll, but it is also a compliment to the ambition and dedication of all concerned, who have collaborated during increasingly hard times for live music as well as for the recorded variety. So while this magazine’s reach frequently stretches as far west as Portland, Oregon, it’s refreshing to find such home-grown talent can be gathered together for a first album.
Lush harmonies and a veritable wall of sound characterise the ten tracks. After the wistful opener, there’s a gentle ballad, Avert, which describes not wanting to be in crowds and social gatherings. Watered Down reflects on the loss of a grandfather, but Wisecrack lifts the mood, while the waltz-time More Me was developed through finding a positive audience reaction at live shows. It builds to a choral crescendo with a fabulous final coda.
Stranger suggests the plaintive solo sound that Burnett might have made before he ramped it up with all these bandmates. It was recorded live, beginning with stripped-back vocals, acoustic guitar and violin before building with bass and drums. So, to the last song, Kicking, guitars fully cranked and an improvised fiddle solo surrounded by lush harmonies, closing this collection of hooky, rocky, tender and reflective songs. It’s a record that everyone involved in the endeavour can be proud of.
