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‘90s rock is still alive and well for these three dudes.

For Dead Stars, rock music doesn’t have to be hip or overly complicated.

The group’s sophomore record, Bright Colors, relies on a mix of front man Jeff Moore’s thick, low vocals, fuzzy power chords and his cousin Jaye Moore's taut drums. It might not be the most uplifting record (see: “Oh Well,” “Living Alone,” “Unpopular”) but don’t write it off as bummer rock. It’s catchy. It’s simple. It’s straightforward. It’s relatable. And it goes quite well with head-bobbing and beer-sipping.

We spoke with Jeff Moore about the group’s unintentional ‘90s college rock references, being outsiders in Brooklyn and Dead Stars’ simple hopes and dreams.

Hometown and homebase: Brooklyn, NY

How did you guys choose the name Dead Stars?

I was thinking about space and the fact that when you look in the sky and you see the stars, most of them aren’t really there—we’re seeing light from a long time ago. I thought that was fascinating … It just had a cool ring to it so we just went with it.

There’s definitely lots of ‘90s college rock references in your music. Was that intentional?

To me, they’re just songs. I just write what sounds good to me … I didn’t even really think about [the group’s ‘90s influenced sound] until people started saying that. I was like, oh yeah, I guess it kind of is. I always wonder: is it the songwriting that’s very ‘90s or is it the sound of the band that’s the ‘90s kind of thing. Or is it both?

What were you hoping to accomplish with the new record?

Creatively, we were trying to get closer to what we are as a band sound-wise … With this record, we really wanted to make things as minimal as possible. We wanted the arrangements to be very to the point. We just wanted to really make things as immediate as possible with the songs.

Do you have a favorite track off the record?

One of my favorite songs is the last song on the record, “Oh Well,” because it’s the longest song on the record. It’s very quiet at times—there’s not a lot of distortion on it. That’s really fun to play live.

Do you feel like being part of the DIY scene in Brooklyn has shaped the band? 

I always feel like we’re not part of a scene. Yeah, we play a lot but I always feel like we’re kind of—outside of things. I don’t think we let what’s happening in the scene influence our music at all… There’s been phases in the DIY scene, you know, there’s the shoegaze phase and then the punk phase. We just keep our head down and do what we do and try not to worry about that.

In a perfect world, where would you want Dead Stars to be in a year?

In a year, I would definitely like to have a new record out and be touring constantly—opening up for a bigger band, touring overseas. That’s our ultimate goal: we want to have people care enough to where we can tour and play our music for people that like it… It’s kind of simple: record music, put it out, have people like it and then go on tour.

Who would you want to tour with?

There’s a bunch of bands that I like—I’d tour with Beach Slang, maybe this band Howler. Maybe some old school [groups], I always wanted to tour with Dinosaur Jr., bands like that. Newer bands, but also it’d be cool to tour with a legendary band that’s still doing stuff.

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