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Confusion, frustration, love and loss are all expressed throughout the first album, “Forgive Me,” from Los Angeles alternative band, Starling. Written over the course of about a year, the LA band recorded themselves in various sheds, apartments, and garages. The record was mixed by drummer, Erik Sathrum Johnson, artwork was shot by the band and their friends, and then mastered by Greg Obis (MJ Lenderman, Wishy, Duster).

Songs like “Quiet” start off with a slow and delicate melody, and then explode in sound halfway through. The guitars in the song were recorded in the middle of summer in a garage with no AC—a physically intense, almost spiritual experience that bleeds into the recording. The lead single, “I Can Be Convinced” is a sad and yearning song, with a need to be still; yet ironically, it’s one of the most upbeat songs on the record.

The album closes with the nearly seven-minute “Keep It” a track Starling had been performing since early 2024. Lyrically charged with frustration, it builds tension through eerie, hushed verses that give way to a loud, distorted chorus—showcasing the band’s ability to channel emotion through dynamic contrast.

With “Forgive Me,” Starling has crafted a deeply personal and fully DIY record, shaping every sonic detail themselves. The result is an album where every melody, rhythm, and raw feeling is intentionally placed and unmistakably theirs.