REVIEW: Star Funeral's "In the Dark" via Count Your Lucky Stars


New York's Nikki Esposito has released debut record as Star Funeral on Count Your Lucky Stars. Esposito has only been dropping music since 2021 and all of it can be found on In the Dark. I myself came to this album solely for the track "Alone," which to me was a highlight of last year.


"Alone" itself comes packed with melancholic tones that sound so sad and so desperate yet manage to also have the subtlety of sound sleep. For me as someone who really doesn't do well with periods of isolation this low cut indie track rang so loudly to me. Unfortunately though I think that very strength is where In the Dark also falls apart. I do think "Alone" is a great song but I do not think it's so great hearing its exact sonics over new themes over and over again for twenty-seven and a half minutes. Pretty much all of these songs are just emo tracks with very little variety to offer, save for "Half Whole, Half Empty." This seems to be the first song Star Funeral had to offer and is a short and cool indie rock banger as opposed to its more sad and acoustic counterparts. 


None of this to say I didn't enjoy this record in fact a huge compliment I can give is the confidence presented. I've known plenty of people throughout the years like the one discussed in "Outgrow" but those people rarely respond healthily to any sort of criticism. To write a song about them is bold and I really admire it, in fact, I'd say that Esposito's lyrics and composition are one of the strongest points of this release.

I still think Star Funeral is a project worth watching, I still think In the Dark is a record worth hearing. What I'm saying is with some risks, maybe some better production which I didn't get to go into too much but leaves me feeling like everything is unbalanced, I think a sophomore record could be something to really look out for.

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