Candy-coated mod quintet the Starlight Mints sprouted through the ground in Norman, OK -- the same home state as the equally oddball dream pop band Flaming Lips. Starlight Mints -- vocalist/guitarist Allan Vest, keyboardist Marian Love Nunez, bassist Javier Gonzales, drummer Andy Nunez, and guitarist Matt Goad -- began jamming together in the '90s as a seven-person band complete with orchestra, giving birth to their own funky brand of heavily instrumental -- think cello, violin, triangle, and sound effects -- surrealistically worded pop sound. Vest's nasally yet skillful voice is like a cross between Pixie legend Frank Black's tenor and Violent Femmes frontman Gordon Gano's cracking throat. The band's first album, The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of, was released in 2000. The record reflects numerous influences from the '60s forward. Built on Squares followed three years later. For 2006's Drowaton, the Starlight Mints signed with Barsuk. Show dates with Dios Malos and Octopus Project followed into June. ~ Betsy Boyd