Stars Edge

For the best part of a decade, drag queen and “self-made man-made woman” Veda Beaux-Reeves has curated the nite-club Space ‘N’ Veda in Dublin. It was there she began to hone her 80s-influenced electro-sex pop in front of a captive audience. Stars Edge is Veda’s debut effort, a salacious, outrageous riot of a record that falls somewhere between Empire Of The Sun, ‘China Girl’-era Bowie and Scissor Sisters. Produced and co-written by Neosupervital (AKA Tim O’Donovan) it’s an unashamedly retro collection and in many ways it could soundtrack an episode of Ashes To Ashes perfectly.
Lyrically, Veda has a knack for telling a great story while cramming as many double entrendres and sexual images into proceedings as she can. (“I met a guy in a Toyota who was older than Yoda and skilled in the way of the force/Had a wife and a child and a very dark side so I had to file for divorce,” she croons on the not so subtle ‘Dyno Rod Man’). Vocally and sonically it’s as camp as a Queer As Folk convention. Not for the straight-laced then, but I adored the undiluted pop sheen of tracks like ‘Miss You Much (Just A Tad)’ and the title-track. Buy.