Localized: Star Carmen

The summer is heating up, so let’s keep the good times going! July’s edition of SLUG Localized is going dark with these sensational bands from beyond the realm. Start your worship with the punk-goth samplings of The Lizard Lords, get enchanted by the evolving sounds of Star Carmen and get electrified by some glam-rock with Willöh. Make your way to Kilby Court on Thursday, July 23. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the party starting at 8 p.m.! Be there or be square!

Despite how tempting it can be to wish for a band to stay the same forever, I’m inspired by artists who are always looking for ways to evolve. My conversation with Star Carmen gave me an exciting inside look into a band that has been embracing that kind of evolution! I can tell that Star Carmen’s openness to explore its sound has helped the group find its identity and hit its creative stride.

After a few years of incubation, songwriting and performing live shows, the group released its debut album, Blue Blue Woman, on October 17, 2025 to a warm reception from the local scene. Star Carmen is very proud of what it calls its “baby album,” and the band’s members view the record as an important step in finding their voice together.

“There’s something very authentic about the first album,” says vocalist and keyboard player Sasha Heywood. “We wanted it to be our fresh, raw sound.” Blue Blue Woman is a collection of songs from a couple of different periods of the project, and the band feels that these tracks serve as an effective introduction to Star Carmen. Putting the album out also allowed the group to decide which creative direction felt right for the future.

“If you liked [Blue Blue Woman], then too bad, because we’re never gonna make music like that again!”

The group has settled over time into its current lineup, which includes Heywood, guitarist Tyler Smith, bassist Jared Wasson, drummer Hunter Flick and guitarist Ben Meacham. Each member brought their own taste and influences that changed the sound of the project. “We found a really cohesive group where we’re all able to really riff off of each other,” Heywood says. “I think we’re all just on the same page, and [our sound] just so naturally shifted to a more of a stripped-back, vocal-heavy, grunge vibe. It was so natural to all of us that there was no going back.”

“If you liked [Blue Blue Woman], then too bad, because we’re never gonna make music like that again!” Smith says with a laugh. Wasson says the debut album was “a little bit more straightforward and in-your-face,” and they’re focusing on adding even more musicality and uniqueness to their next album.

It’s clear that Star Carmen is excited to be making music together. The members mentioned a few times that they felt like their songs sometimes wrote themselves, and they spoke about the project with passion without taking themselves too seriously. Our conversation was filled with laughs and comedic bits. At one point, Smith joked that the next album will be “Enya mixed with GG Allin.”

“Writing and playing something that people connect with… is something special.”

Although the sound of Star Carmen is changing, its vision remains consistent. Heywood, the lyricist of the band, writes lyrics that anyone could find relatable, even if the exact meaning of the song isn’t immediately clear. “What I love is the idea of somebody being able to have [my lyrics] align perfectly with their life because of the way that they interpret [them],” she says. Heywood finds herself drawn to harder or darker topics. “There’s a lot of not-so-beautiful aspects of life, and I like to write about those in a beautiful way,” she says.

Performing live shows is another central part of the band’s vision. “There’s power in connection,” Wasson says. “Writing and playing something that people connect with… is something special.” The members all agree that the experience of playing a song live for the first time is electric and brings life to the music. “The audience is such a crucial part of the music and the performance and what Star Carmen is,” Heywood says.

Going forward, the band will be focusing on finishing its next album, honing in on the image of the band and creating a musical world for fans to immerse themselves in. If you want to see this next phase of Star Carmen and experience the band’s music live, join us at SLUG Localized this month!

Read more local reviews from Jacob Huff:
Local Review: GANKY — FWM (DELUXE)
Local Review: Olympic Deth — Peace Album

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