I really only enjoy a few songs on this album. This albums doesn't hold me long enough to listen to all 11 of its tracks.
But, I realize my review was a bit small and choppy, so here, I'll do a track by track.
But first I will say: Stars is a Canadian indie-pop/chamber-ish band. They use everything from guitar and drums to trumpet and violins. It's a nice ensemble. It consists of Torquil Campbell, who sings the majority of vocals. He also plays the trumpet and keyboards. Secondary vocals are brought about by the lovely Amy Millan. Her smoky, low-toned vocals add a nice indie-sexiness. Her vocals aren't necessarily
amazing but they work well. She also plays guitar. The rest of the band are Pat McGee, who mainly plays drums. Evan Cranley, who mainly plays bass, guitar, and trombone. And Chris Seligman, who plays keyboards, programming & french horn.
They aren't wholly original, but at the same time, it's hard to think of a band that sounds like them. Torquil's kind of cute vocals are unique, as well their mix of chamber and rock. Their lyrics are made up of a mix between pop, indie, twee (in the faintest sense,) and contain topics that range from love and/or breakups ("Elevator Love Letter," "Heart,") to beautiful emotional imagery ("The Woods," "Time Can Never Kill the True Heart.")
Okay, here is the track by track.
"What the Snowman Learned About Love"
I laughed when I first heard this song's intro. "I am ______ and this is my heart." I thought it was corny, and stupid. I almost switched songs, as I'm sure a lot of people do. But then I heard the synth - I love synth - and I kept it on. When it calmed down into a synthy guitar-ish sequence, I was intrigued by its simple beauty. The Torquil and Amy started singing, and I just fell. It was absolutely beautiful. I love "a sky that refuses to die." Their voices' chemistry throughout this song is immense. "You come around..." they repeat over and over... but it's just so damn gorgeous that you don't even mind. I played this song a few times over & over when I first heard it.
Grade: A+
"Elevator Love Letter"
I didn't really like this song at first. I tend to focus on lyrics, and this kind of sounded like it could easily be done by any mainstream pop gal. But then I repeated it a few times and I realized: It's perfectly fine. Amy's vocals work wonderfully as she sings "Spend a lazy sunday in my arms / I won't take anything away." And Torq's vocals are charming here, as he talks about how he's "hot for the rich girl." It has a bubbly, bouncy instrumentation. Joyful.
Grade: A-
"Heart"
A wonderful song. Great lyrics, great beat, great music, great vocals. The vocals reach an even higher stupendousness when Amy sings the chorus ("Alright, I can do what you want me to" ... "I'm still in love with you.") It's just beautiful. And usually I don't like long, long musical outros. But "Heart"'s horn-filled exit really just tops the cake. If these first three tracks were on EP, it'd be worth anyone's money.
Grade: A+
"The Woods"
This is another number I didn't love at first. It sounded a bit too young. He kind of sounds like a little boy. And the atmosphere of the television iun the background through me off. The I listened again, and I heard the magic. The TV in the background says, "It's a sea of leaves / A sea of leaves / ... / Once you lose something you'll never find it again; it's lost at the bottom." I thought that was amazing. It's tucked in the nooks of the song, jsut barely below a whisper. And it works completely. Torq's vocals are, in fact, fine. Juxtaposed against the rather empty atmosphere, it is up to him to express the power of the song. He does. However, it is still a bit too... choppy, for me.
Grade: B
"Death to Death"
The absolute worst song by them (let alone on this record.) Amy's vocals are minimalistic as they sing an atrocious chorus "I am destroyer, I am lover / Love one thing, destroy the other." It just sounds so stupid. And Torq's lines aren't too great either. It seems like they wanted a love-murderous mood, but forget about substance. Really... this song just has so many problems it's hard to pinpoint one. It is a mess.
Grade: D-
"The Vanishing"
"Hey, wake up, wake up wake up," Torq sings in the beginning of this rather nicely done song. The guitar lines in the beginning, and throughout, are the real attraction in this song, providing an extremely enjoyable backdrop for Torq's lovely vocals. I don't have a strong opinion, bad or good, on the lyrics. Considering I don't really understand them or know them (I have lost the lyric booklet in my many moves.) I like the chorus, I suppose, as he sings "I am gone / I am gone." I do like what I can understand from the second verse, "London, a blur behind me." Overall, it's fine.
Grade: B-
"Romantic Comedy"
I have a problem with this song. It sounds way too much like a solely-for-soundtrack-purposes song. It seems like its trying too hard to describe a relationship's status, day to night. It kind of fails, falling into a corny lovey-dovey movie soundtrack. I don't really like the lyrics, especially Amy's first one: "You think you're so bad / You're just badly raised," and then Torq's, "I was wasted at fifteen / I never learned to go slow." Their vocals work well together, and Amy's smoky sexiness is abundant here. But then you hear her talking about picking out furniture and silver anniversaries. It sounds like a romantic comedy track, again. Good thing the music is fine.
Grade: C-
"Time Can Never Kill the True Heart"
This song is good. It is a bit reminiscent of "What the Snowman Learned About Love." The vocals are manipulated into a kind of white-noisey, staticy effect. The sound outcome is very enjoyable to listen to. You don't care that you can barely understand what they're saying. You can hear Amy's vocals barely below Torq's domination. But that adds to the appeal. Once you hear her once, you hear it throughout the whole thing, despite the low volume of her. It's great. I really like the scene described in the first verse ("Hold my hand so you don't fall / Catch your breath as the gulls call.") It gives me this picture of two people standing on a cliff, looking out the endlessly beautiful blissful ocean. Then when the music stops for a second, then hits back with percussion,a nd then again changes a bit when the duo starts singing again -- you find yourself really enjoying it by now.
Grade: A-
"Look Up"
Another smoky Amy sung song. I love the music here more than anywhere else on the album (except the first track.) There's fast percussion that provide a rigid bed for Amy's vocals to rest on. Then the horns really wrap themselves around her thick warmth. This song's vocal track is kind of the opposite of the previous. You can kind of hear Torq's vocals beneath hers. But it's so faint, that you're not sure if it's him, or some kind of vocal manipulation/echo. But, the lyrics in the chorus make a wonderful scene render in your head ("Rain is falling - looks like love.") Perfect song. Perfect girl.
Grade: A+
"Life Effect"
I don't have a whole lot to say about this song. Its mood is really good. Its lyrics are good for what they are. Kind of depressing sometimes ("The birth was quick, but the death is slow.") I think the idea of the Life Effect is a bit weird. He doesn't quite describe it. Though, we assume it's just like, him saying the "cycle of life, and its events." I do like Amy's even-lower vocals; almost sharp in their tone. The chorus, especially the line "the room grows quiet around us" casts Torq's vocals in the best... way(????) they are on the album. But this song seems unfinished. When it ends, you may find yourself saying, "Oh... it's over? It didn't sound like it should have ended."
Grade: B-
"Don't Be Afraid to Sing"
Even though this song has a nice mood, and a somewhat lovely instrumental, it is completely too empty for my liking. The opening sounds extremely similar to Cody ChesnuTT's [wonderful] "5 On a Joyride" (most known from the Me and You and Everyone We Know soundtrack.) The lyrics seems like someone whipped them up in 30 seconds, they don't have much thought to them. This seems like the song that the band will covet, but the listeners will never truly get it. Despite its minimalism, it seems over thought. (Weird.) Aside from the lyrics, it seems like they're trying too hard to do something deep and slightly lullaby-like for a closer. Almost trying too hard to get a song that can only be a closer. That is this. This is that.
Grade: D+
Overall, this album is not a masterwork. Nor perfect. Now extremely good. But it is very good. The tracks that are amazing are amazing. The ones that are bad are bad, but skipable. The good tracks really make this album worth your time. However, I'd much rather listen to much-better
Set Yourself on Fire. Check them both out. They're both good. This could be one of those instances where if you listen to one album from a band/singer, you won't like the ones before or after it. I listened to Set Yourself on Fire first. This could have results in my favoring-of-that-one. The lyrics and music, and overall moods are better (check out Your Ex Love is Dead, He Lied About Death, Celebration Guns, and Calender Girl.)
This is definitely not a bad album.
But decide for yourself, ultimately.
HIGHLIGHTS:
What the Snowman Leaned About Love
Heart
Look Up
LOWLIGHTS:
Death to Death
Don't Be Afraid to Sing
