Major Stars

Major Stars emerged in 1997 as a cornerstone of America’s fiercely autonomous rural psychedelia movement, founded by Kate Biggar and Wayne Rogers. Longstanding presences in Boston’s independent scene, the pair’s frantic guitar outbursts and lysergic rock explorations were documented across more than two decades through both murky live captures and refined studio efforts such as the 2016 album Motion Set.

Biggar and Rogers first met in the early 1980s and performed together in several early bands while cultivating underground styles that shaped their singular approach. Before Major Stars they joined former Galaxie 500 members Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang in the short-lived space-rock group Magic Hour. After Magic Hour ended in 1996 the duo launched the Twisted Village record store and label in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and soon formed Major Stars. The new band expanded Magic Hour’s celestial haze with searing guitar leads and an occasional menacing undercurrent. Bassist Tom Leonard and drummer Dave Lynch completed the original lineup, and the debut album Rock Revival appeared on Twisted Village in 1998. Space/Time followed in 1999, after which the musicians spent the next two years completing their third album, Distant Effects. Released in 2002 on the Virginia-based Squealer Music label, the record arrived the same year Major Stars toured as openers for Japan’s Acid Mothers Temple and performed at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. Shows concluded in May 2003, and the limited-edition split Live in Europa with Comets on Fire introduced the band to additional listeners.

They moved to a proper New York studio to begin work on their fourth album, titled simply 4. Personnel changes soon followed. By the time 4 appeared in spring 2005, drummer Dave Lynch had departed and the group had added Casey Keenan on drums, Dave Dougan on bass, and vocalist Sandra Barrett, while Tom Leonard switched to guitar. Continuing as a sextet, Major Stars released Syntoptikon in 2006 and Mirror/Messenger in 2007. Return to Form, their seventh album, came out on Drag City in 2010, followed by Decibels of Gratitude in 2012. Although the band maintained a steady touring schedule, four years passed before new material emerged. On the late-2016 album Motion Set the group employed several singers to deliver Rogers’ lyrics, including Hayley Thompson-King, who fronted the first single “For Today.” Three years later they issued Roots of Confusion Seeds of Joy, another intense chapter featuring vocalist Noell Dorsey. Dorsey’s harmonies added new shading without diminishing Biggar’s and Rogers’ long-honed guitar assaults.