As lush as it sounds texturally, Town Cars’ debut album, Hearts and Stars, was released in October 2014 and is at its core a one-woman band with Melinda Cooper. And with a pop instinct as strong as hers, it’s no surprise that Cooper has a deep well of hyper-talented friends to call upon. Town Cars’ debut album, Hearts and Stars, was released nationally in October 2014. As lush as it sounds texturally, the album is at its core the result of a one-woman band with Cooper at the helm. But with an indie rock instinct as strong as hers, it’s no surprise she has a deep well of hyper-talented fellow St. Louis natives to call upon for live support and overall musical contributions. Kevin Buckley (Grace Basement, Magnolia Summer) worked together with Cooper to engineer and mix the album as well as a bit of instrumentation on various tracks. Buckley especially shines in his lead vocal and guitar work on the Town Cars’ cover of the KoStars song, “Don’t Know Why”. Jenn Malzone (Middle Class Fashion) wrote two of the tracks on the album, one of which was previously released on her own band’s album in the year prior. As it is with all solid songwriting, Hearts and Stars still stands strong within various interpretations of its songs, and resonates even further as Town Cars continues to expand. RIYL: Courtney Barnett, The Breeders, Lemonheads, Angel Olsen, PJ Harvey “Whether you want to drive around with the windows down and the music cranked on a sunny day, waxing nostalgic about the music of your youth, or sonically enhance a cozy, contemplative evening in with your fuzziest blanket, Hearts and Stars has got you covered.” Suzie Gilb, Eleven Magazine “Flowing effortlessly from melodic, jangly twangy rock to wall of sound guitar rock & roll and everything between, Hearts and Stars sounds like a perfect love letter to and rehab of the absolute best of 1990s independent music.” - Jim Utz, Vintage Vinyl “Female-fronted indie rock is making a comeback, exemplified by this supergroup of STL music vets' first album. Jangly '90s-era, guitar-driven indie rock that recalls the best of Azure Ray, Velocity Girl and a dozen countless others.“- Jason Robinson, KDHX “Cooper handles most of the instrumentation on the album and spins out smart, succinct rock songs that ebb and flow with her moods: strident or open-hearted, playful or wounded. Her fine, clear voice wraps around these sentiments... it may seem like Town Cars plays hopscotch throughout its debut. It may be better to say that Hearts and Stars shows that Cooper contains musical multitudes, and Town Cars is just the vehicle to ferry her to and fro.” Christian Schaeffer, The Riverfront Times