Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Chocolate Starfish, Kaos 2021.
This single is a blast from the past in a number of ways.
Firstly, it’s the first release from Melbourne band Chocolate Starfish in some time, and secondly that they have broken their silence by doing a cover of 4 Non Blondes 1992 hit What’s Up.
Chocolate Starfish were quite big back in the ‘90s when their self-titled debut album peaked at number two on the ARIA Albums chart and the follow-up, Box, reached number six.
Interestingly their highest-ranking single was a cover of the Carly Simon song You’re So Vain which hit #11 in the singles chart and another single, Mountain, peaked at number 12 in ‘94.
The band disbanded not long after this only to reform in 2010 however lead singer/guitarist Zoran Romic died of cancer in 2012 and although the band limped on they never did reach the heights they’d previously scaled.
Not much was heard from them until 2015 when they released their first new single in nearly 20 years called Cinderella.
All the proceeds from the song were donated to a young woman who was suffering from motor neurone disease.
They disappeared again until the recent release of What’s Up.
Chocolate Starfish are a good band and they were renowned for their energetic live performances.
They’ve toured alongside power acts like Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss and Dragon holding their own amongst this exalted company and many people consider that they stole the show from other notable bands when they performed at the Big Red Bash which was held in Birdsville in 2019.
Their version of What’s Up is really good and I’m tempted to think that they’re trying to replicate the success they had with You’re So Vain.
Unlike most bands, Chocolate Starfish are not afraid to release covers probably because they invariably do them as well as, if not better than, the original versions.
4 Non Blondes were a lesbian band and the significance of the lyrics, when performed by Chocolate Starfish, have less impact however overall their version compares very favourably.
