Starjets “God Bless Starjets” 1979. Power pop from Northern Ireland. The image is blurry because I had to keep the original Jem Records import sticker/shinkwrap on the album. God Bless Starjets was their first and only LP release, though they did have a whole bunch of singles from 1978-1980. I know nothing about the band, and there’s not much on the internet either, so here’s some info from Discogs:

They were formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1976 by guitarist – lead vocalist Terry Sharpe, guitarist Paul Bowen, bassist Sean Martin and drummer Liam L’Estrange. They were signed at Epic by Muff Winwood where they released one album in 1979 and a bunch of singles with “War Stories” being their biggest hit (No.51 in the U.K. charts in 1979). They supported Bay City Rollers and Stiff Little Fingers and because of their amiable style they were labelled “the Bay City Rollers of punk”. After their album failed to chart, Paul Bowen left the group and they changed their name to Tango Brigade adding guitarist Pat Gribben in their line up. After one single at Epic in 1981, Tango Brigade disbanded due to musical differences and Terry Sharpewith Pat Gribben formed The Adventures in 1983 and Sean Martin joined Jake Burns And The Big Wheel.

God Bless Starjets is power-pop lite; the quote above about the Bay City Rollers totally checks. Beach Boy-esque harmonies and sweet poppy melodies. The single “War Stories” is one of the “power” ie harder tracks and also one of my top picks, as are “Schooldays” and “Sitting on Top of the World.” Both have some anthemic moments, t00. There are sounds similar to some of their UK contemporaries, too: “I’m So Glad” is super similar to Elvis Costello and “War Is Over” rings of The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers. There is a bit of (unintentional?) silliness on this record as well: “Smart Boys,” which about the band themselves, is pretty ridiculous.