Stars are a five-piece Canadian indie rock band that originally formed as the duo of Torquil Campbell and Christopher Seligman back in 2000. After their debut album, “Nightsongs”, was released in 2001, they began adding members. By the time “Heart” was released two years later, the band was up to their current roster size, after adding Evan Cranley, Amy Millan, and Patrick McGee, and the lineup has remained pretty much unchanged ever since. What I find interesting is that most, if not all of the band’s members grew up in Toronto, but the band has never been based there, finding its roots in New York City originally and then, later, relocating to Montreal.
I got into Stars around the same time as pretty much everyone else: shortly after “Set yourself on fire” was let loose on the public in 2004. This was fortuitously right in the middle of the Canadian indie rock renaissance, when all of a sudden, the world realized that music was being made in that gigantic country north of the United States. “Set yourself on fire” is widely considered Stars’ best album and admittedly, it is still my favourite out of all their albums. This is mostly because I know it so well, having listened to it incessantly when I first got a copy of it. Nevertheless, I love all of the albums Stars have since released (including this one, obviously), and if not loved, was able to appreciate the music on their first two when I went back to discover them. And I fully expect that any new album that they come out with next will be great as well, which is why I’ve rarely hesitated in pre-ordering each new album for my vinyl collection without so much as test driving one song. I can do something so rash with an ease of mind because they’ve established a consistency with each album, a sound that is recognizably their own and for us fans, is as comfortable as sitting in our jammies at the kitchen table with a warm cup of coffee and often, makes us want to interrupt our convalescence to get up and dance.
I remember succumbing to the elegance and beauty of Stars’ fifth album, “The five ghosts”, right away, much like I did for “Set yourself on fire”, but unlike its predecessor “In our bedroom after the war”, which started a bit tart but aged like a fine wine. They were on the vanguard of the resurgent trend of duelling male/female lead vocals, a quality that led me to make comparisons to The Beautiful South in the early days of my relationship with the band. On “The five ghosts”, Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan share the duties almost fifty-fifty and on those songs that they spar, the battle of the sexes is played out like the work of art that it is. Campbell doesn’t hide away his love for Morrissey and The Smiths and also channels Paul Heaton and well, Millan’s soft but smart delivery often makes you feel like she could break you in half without you even knowing she’s doing it.
The song titles and lyrics on “The five ghosts” are dark, evoking the macabre with words like death, bones, and haunting, but the album is very much alive. It’s a game Stars play well, much like The Beautiful South (okay, maybe I’m belabouring the comparison now), this juxtaposing of somber themes with seemingly fluffy and cuddly pop music. Not that you should surmise their music is simple, throwaway schlock. Stars are a complete unit, a stylistic package. The music is as intricately designed as one could wish, each layer a delight to pull away and examine in your hands, like the wisps of a cobweb dripping with dew. So yes, let the sun break through fog and delight in it.
If you’re not already listening to Stars, put them on now, preferably “The five ghosts”. If it’s not in your musical arsenal, have a crack at my three picks for you, just a few of the great pieces off the album:
“Changes”: Track seven is peppy and retro, it harkens back to the golden days of the movie musical. I’m thinking ‘Singing in the rain’ here. A synthesizer programmed drum machine sets the tone, abracadabra, confetti, and a sweet bass line starts the microwave to melt your soul like butter and Amy Millan’s lilting turn on vocals, invoking that of Kirsty MacColl, does the rest just fine. “Changes, I’ve never been good with change. I hate it when it all stays the same.” And before you all start crying nudity foul at the NSFW video, it’s an artsy-fartsy thing, playing on some sort of metamorphosis theme, good versus evil, light versus dark, ballet in the buff, and it was shot in the beautiful Winter Garden theatre in Toronto, which makes it all okay.
“Dead hearts”: The opening track on the album features the trademark Campbell and Millan call and response vocal work. It might almost be considered a tad precious with the chiming arpeggios, the graceful strings, and pitch perfect harmonizing if it weren’t for the fact that you knew by the title that they were singing about not just broken but, dead hearts. It was number seven on my Best tunes of 2010 list and in that particular post I also talked about the “gentle jingling guitars, the lonely tinkling piano, the string explosion, and [the] push/pull harmonies [that] all call to mind a fantastical world of a creative child’s imagination.” Haunting and wonderful and joyful in its misery and in its hope. “It’s hard to know they’re out there. It’s hard to know that you still care.”
“Fixed”: “You, you hold my heart. You, you won’t let up. After when I’m caught, touch turns into fisticuffs.” Much like the previous song, this one appeared on my Best tunes of 2010 list, this time at number twenty. It’s one of a good handful of dance floor fillers on the album. Millan takes the lead for this one, sounding almost hopeful and glorious, set against 80s synths and Madchester drums. As I’ve said before, “The drumming is peppy and the synths keep pace, urging any and all listeners to get up and dance, no matter where they are, the bus, a crowded sidewalk, or with a broom in the kitchen, and forget everything but the beat.” This is what makes Stars so great. They can challenge you to think at the same time is they are encouraging a great time. But let’s not lose the plot here. Finish that drink and let’s get out the on the floor.
Stay tuned for album #4. In the meantime, here are the previous albums in this list:
10. Diamond Rings “Special affections”
9. Bedouin Soundclash “Light the horizon”
8. LCD Soundsystem “This is happening”
7. The Drums “The Drums”
6. The New Pornographers “Together”
You can also check out my Best Albums page here if you’re interested in my other favourite albums lists.
My (life in) music lists 