Often, one’s popularity is built on the already existing popularity of someone else.

Take a sideman who is going on to launch his or her career after some collective initial success, for example. Without the success of the first project, the second time around under some new auspices would be darn difficult, if not impossible.

As well as bands, this works the same way with families. Just look at all the sons and daughters of famous people who are only recognised because those who raised them were already famous. Look at anyone with the last name Hilton or Osbourne, and it becomes evident. And, at least on paper, such is the case with Oklahoma City’s Stardeath and the White Dwarves.

The band is led by Dennis Coyne, who calls Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne his uncle and who openly references his uncle as one his biggest influences and supporters. Yet, there comes a time when the offspring of those popular must forge their own identity, and being Wayne Coyne’s nephew is quite a tenuous link to build a musical platform on to begin with. Thankfully the quintet’s debut, simply titled Birth, is worth talking about in its own right.

For Stardeath and the White Dwarves, recording their debut album was not a speedy affair. Instead, it was slowly cobbled together through four years of disparate recording, and was completed before Warner Records got involved on the recommendation of said famous uncle.

“When we first started recording this record,” reveals Coyne, “we had no money and no deadline, so we would only record when we could scrape up enough money to go to the studio. That is why it took us so long, essentially. It was great to work that way, as it flowed differently from being stuck in a studio for two weeks with a stringent deadline. We just made the songs that we wanted to, and never really paid much of time deadlines or stuff like that any mind.”

Birth is, as the band’s moniker would suggest, a space-rock influenced record. And while it would be all too easy to liken it to The Flaming Lips at one stage in their career, Birth does embody moments where older Coyne’s influence shines through brilliantly, especially the more experimental and ethereal mid 90s that saw The Lips’ explore pop’s unending periphery. Birth does not go too far from its trenchant melodies, but one can hear the influence, and as such, see how Stardeath and the White Dwarves grew up absorbing music in Oklahoma City. “We all grew up listening to the Lips and seeing them play around Oklahoma City,” affirms Coyne. “Being around them so much and seeing them work as hard as they do to be successful made us realise that no matter the talent, you still have to bust your ass to get by in anything that you do in life. I definitely learned that from them.”

With Birth, it is the synthesizer and all the sounds it can make that take the lead, as Coyne and company stretch jubilant melodies around thick swathes of reverb, distortion and atmosphere. Sometimes the core melody drives the train, sometimes the space around the melody; either way it shows a band that has taken their time crafting their sound, regardless of who was cheering them on from the sidelines.
“The great thing about the record was how unconscious it was in how we developed the themes and overall sounds. There really was very little thought put into how it would end up. Instead, we just played,” adds Coyne. “That’s why, looking back at it, I feel that the end result is probably about half and half, in terms of studio crafted sounds and more live-influenced stuff. Still, we didn’t consciously decide one way or the other. We do attempt to sound as much like our record as we can live though, so the two products mesh properly.”

Stardeath and the White Dwarves introduction to the UK could not be any sweeter. They are supporting The Flaming Lips, culminating in two sold out night at London’s Troxy. When discussing the live show, Coyne is tight-lipped, as he feels the ideas change nightly, even though the main goal is to try and marry what one sees live with what one will hear after the show on record. What one gets live only, however, are lights, smoke and theatrics. That, according to the songwriter, is on tap for London town. “There will definitely be an emphasis on loud psychedelic sounds,” states Coyne. “Oh, and of course there will be lots of lasers and smoke machines. A show isn’t a show without them, I think.”

Birth is out on Warner Records, and sure, the band is coming into their own and eschewing the comparison to The Flaming Lips, but one assertion remains true: if you like the influences, you’ll find something to love in what it influenced.