Starbenders release tribute to the mysterious Chantilly Boy

(Image credit: Alec Weeks)

Atlanta glam-punks Starbenders have released a new single, Chantilly Boy. The quartet's first release since September's Tokyo single, it's the latest banger in a long line of thoroughly modern rock bangers, and gets bonus points for the lines "Valhalla at the end of the night / Hang around the heavy metal parking lot," presumably a reference to the much-loved short film Heavy Metal Park Lot.

“I was thrifting at Lost n’ Found Youth on Chantilly Drive in Atlanta when I met the most beautiful soul," explains lead Starbender Kimi Shelter. "We got to talking, and he shared his story. Life dealt a harsh hand and he lived on the streets, yet he lit up the room like the sun. Then, just like that, he was gone.

"I never caught his name, so in my mind, I called him Chantilly Boy. This song isn’t just about him. It’s for all of us who brave what can be a very cruel world while fighting to be our true selves."

Chantilly Boy precedes the arrival of Starbenders' fourth album, the follow-up to 2023's Take Back the Night, which is reported to be arriving this year. It's also the second song released by the band to feature new drummer Qi Wei, who joined following the departure of Emily Moon in early 2024.

"Wei made a bold leap, leaving everything behind in China to join Starbenders," wrote the band. "Now the first Western band with a Chinese citizen as a member, this moment gives us a chance to bridge cultures by letting our different backgrounds naturally shape the future of Starbenders."

STARBENDERS - Chantilly Boy (Official Audio) - YouTube

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Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.