Ringo Deathstarr

Ringo Deathstarr is an alternative rock band from Austin, Texas, which channels such diverse influences as Fugazi, The Cure, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, and The Velvet Underground. The band was originally formed by singer/songwriter Elliott Frazier in 2005, and released their eponymous EP in 2007. This was followed by a string of singles and a series of international tours hitting both coasts and the streets of the UK and Japan. The band’s debut full-length album, Colour Trip, was released in February 2011 by Club AC30. They toured with The Smashing Pumpkins in the winter of 2011/2012. The name of the band is a portmanteau of The Beatles drummer's name, Ringo Starr, and the Death Star.

The band were originally started by Frazier in his hometown, Beaumont, but soon he moved to the more musically active town of Austin, where he stabilized a lineup consisting of guitarist Renan McFarland, bassist Alex Gehring, and drummerDustin Gaudet. The band's debut 5-song EP, Ringo Deathstarr, was released on SVC Records in the fall of 2007 in the UK, and on Fan Death Records in 2009. It was later re-released with extra tracks as Sparkler. After a few more years of playing shows, shuffling around members before finally settling on Gehring and drummer Daniel Coborn, and honing their sound, the band was signed by the UK label Club AC30 after gaining popularity at their Reverence Festival in 2009. The band's debut full-length album, Colour Trip, was first released by Club AC30 in February 2011 in the UK, then was licensed by Sonic Unyon for release in North America, and Vinyl Junkie for release in Japan.

The band has been generally described as having a sound that that is heavily influenced by the pioneers of the shoegaze sound, such as Ride, The Jesus & Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine as well as a drone component inherited through Spacemen 3. Allmusic describes them as "immersing themselves so totally in the style of their influences that they sound exactly like them", yet also noting that "if you take a more positive stance, you can commend the trio’s skill at re-creation, lose yourself in the warmly fuzzy guitars that flood the album from beginning to end, or let the honey-sweet vocals of bassist Alex Gehring wash away your nagging doubts". BBC took a less positive stance, saying of the band that "they offer evidence that ultimately, it doesn't matter if your band lacks any real ingenuity or originality, because if you play loud enough people will, eventually, begin to notice you", summarizing the band as "shoegaze drone-noise from Texas, done well but done several times before".