The latest batch of HERO playlists are put together by the bands from Issue 10. And STARRED kick off the series in style.

The New York-based duo of Liza Thorn and Matthew Koshak – “our vibe is kind of like apocalyptic California, isn’t it?” muses Thorn – are known for their incandescent, devastating sound, at the core of which is pedal steel guitar – “one of the only instruments on the planet capable of displaying a full range of sheer human emotion,” explains Koshak.

Ahead of their eagerly awaited debut album next spring, to be released through Brian Lee Hughes’ Do Not Disturb Records, Thorn shares some of her favourite records. And there’s not a dry eye in the house.

I’m Waiting for The Man by The Velvet Underground

Liar by Royal Trux

Godstar by Psychic TV

Are You Experienced? by Psychic TV

Crying by Roy Orbison

I Love You by Spacemen 3

Goldie by A$AP Rocky

How You Satisfy Me by Spectrum

Tiger by the Tail by Buck Owens
“This song is best to play when absolutely wasted, like BLACKOUT FUCKED THREE WAYS WASTED.”

Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down by Merle Haggard
“True story: Cass McCombs and I got lost in Bakersfield once looking for the boxcar The Hag grew up in… Eventually found it, we think, and ended up at the Buck Owens museum.”

County Line by Cass McCombs
“Tearjerker greatness, love you CM.”

Mariah (featuring Liza Thorn) by Cass McCombs
“That’s me, ha, accompanying him. MARIAH… This song brings me back to when I first moved to LA; a sad, broken hearted time for me.”

Call From Paris by STARRED
“The first video we made with Grant Singer in LA, in my bedroom at the Gaylord Apartments.”

Lucky Three: an Elliott Smith Portrait

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