Set Yourself on Fire

by

Stars

Edit

I first heard Stars live as they opened for Death Cab for Cutie during their visit to Orlando, not too long ago. I was floored. As much as I enjoyed Death Cab, I was more impressed with the performance by the Canadians. I decided to pick up their latest album as the kid at the t-shirt stand told me 75% of the set list was from it. I set myself up, because now I am in an endless loop I cannot escape of. I simply CANNOT and will not take this album out of my player.

Stars is a bit of a spinoff of the Canadian experimental musical collective Broken Social Scene (BSS). They too are a bit of a collective that blends in traditional rock instruments with strings and horns in a way that is almost impossible to describe. When I first heard them, I thought (because of the female voice -one of the musicians from BSS): "This must be how 10,000 Maniacs would sound, were they still around." Enter the male singer (reminded me a bit of Trashcan Sinatras) and their harmonies. Where do you put that? Heavenly combination of voices, perfect balance that doesn't drown out any of the two.

Take the bass work (another member of BSS). If you pay close attention to it, you find out there's more to their bass than the typical sound you hear almost everywhere. The bass in Stars is almost a melodic instrument: it is every bit as much a part of the core sound of the band.

Then add to this the most grandious compositions, lyrics and arrangements, which almost seem to change gears every song and even within songs, from calm to upbeat, from upbeat to ambient, from ambient to lounge... You think it's hard to follow? You feel it's a melange? Well, that is perhaps the most brilliant thing about the band. In spite of the combinations and blends, of the experimentation and the changes in pace, in spite of the special metrics, the end result feels seamless. Not what you'd call "easy listening" but more like lovely to listen to.

Hands down, among the best of 2005 (up there alongside Sigur Ros' "Takk...") and it definitely made it to the list of my all-time favorites as well.

Set Yourself on Fire is the third album from Canadian Indie group Stars. It follows Heart and it finds the group maturing their style into a more cohesive format. If you're new to Stars, you should know that the band features dual vocalists, one male and one female ala Belle & Sebastian or The White Stripes. Lead vocalists Torquil Campbell and Amy Milan sound strong on this album taking splitting the vocal duties down the middle and sometimes even singing in tandem.

There are strong songs here. "Your ex-lover is dead" is based upon a background of horns, prominent bass and pacing drums with driving guitar lines. The vocals here as in other songs either interchange(male sings for a while then comes in female) or work in tandem. The best parts on this album are when the voices are working in tandem. Lyrics are strong through the album and delivered with emotion.

"Celebration Guns" is a soft ballad sang by Amy and driven by mournful strings and strong bass. The song itself has some moments that are very similar to Don McLean's American Pie. "Sleep Tonight" is another strong Amy ballad with an electronica back drop. "What I'm trying to say" is faster pased with both singers delivered their lines against a backdrop of strong drumming and fast paced guitar lines with some electronica beats thrown in. "Reunion" is another strong faster paced rocker with airy vocals.

The album itself has a very ethereal feel. Even the songs with faster pacing seem somewhat droll at times bringing down the overall pacing of the album. The vocals and lyrics are pretty strong here and the instrumentals behind it all range from excellent to a tad boring at times. There are some excellent tracks here but also some filler material. Some of the songs could use some trimming as well as they feel just a tad over long.

Still, Set Yourself on Fire is another strong outing from the Canadian group. This a good combination of airy chamber pop, electronic and even some 60s-80s pop. There are some problems here and there but all in all, it's well worth listening. If you're a fan of their other work then you'll surely enjoy this one. If you're a fan of Belle & Sebastian, bands like The Postal Service or are just looking for some good indie pop then you might enjoy what you find here. It's a worthwhile purchase but Stars could use a bit more variety in their sound. 3 1/2 stars.