The Star Department

The Star Department formed in 2006 in Dublin, initially as a four piece. The debut EP, 'Flickering Lights', was released soon after and received much critical acclaim. It was mastered by Kramer (Low, Daniel Johnston, Galaxie 500), the track 'Embers' was chosen by Aer Lingus for their in-flight track list and the track 'Flickering Lights' was chosen by Road Records and Nokia as one of the 'Recommender' songs, which showcases the best new music worldwide. The band were chosen as one of Today FM's 'Rising Bands of 2007' and enjoyed a lot of airplay in Ireland, USA and Spain. After a busy couple of years, writing and playing live around Ireland, the line up changed and as a result the band's whole way of writing and recording changed.

The line up now consists of Michael Orange and Justin Commins and after a hiatus, they began working on their debut album, 'The Pea Green Boat', while also taking in tours in the USA and Canada in 2010 and 2011, as part of CMJ and NXNE. December 2011 saw the band release 'Antlers', with David Brewis from Field Music taking up mixing duties. It was the first single from the debut album and May 2012 saw the second single, 'Porcelain Doll' see the light of day. Both were very well received and picked up many favourable reviews from press, both at home and abroad. The album, which is being mixed by Tom McFall (Bloc Party, REM, Stars, Weezer), is scheduled for a release in 2012 and following that the band will focus on the live show, with friends joining to flesh the songs out in the live setting.