Photo courtesy of Starring/Facebook

Brooklyn improv-punks Starring’s new song “….7….” starts with a series of repeating, menacing guitar clangs before settling into steady, bass and viola-led groove — and by the time Clara Hunter’s ghost-chants arrive, “…7….” it’s miles away from where it started.

“This was actually the last song we wrote for the record,” violinist Amy Cimini tells Hive. “As we were working we got more and more interested in experimenting with longer song forms that move through a wider range of styles and affects. “…7…” forced us figure out how take the long, sparse and brooding viola solo and develop it into the soaring, anthemic vocal line that closes the track. It’s certainly the song that encapsulates all the things that are explored on other songs.”

At nearly ten minutes, “….7….” has more ideas than many band’s entire albums, venturing from eerie Slint-isms to Krupa beats to circus goth, while ending up with a final number that defines a highly singular vocabulary. Which seems appropriate for a single from an album called ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRSTUV-WXYZ.

ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRSTUV-WXYZ is out now on Northern Spy Records.