Stars

from:               Montreal, Quebec, Canada
website:           www.arts-crafts.ca/stars/
myspace:         www.myspace.com/stars

Set Yourself On Fire, the third full-length release from Stars, almost snuck into the list of my top releases of 2005.  The dreamy collection of chamber pop with an electronic-ish swirl and lovely boy/girl vocals definitely grabbed my attention last year, and as I sit hear listening to it now I'm thinking I need to play this album more often.

The band was initially formed in Toronto by Torquil Campbell (vocals, keyboard and trumpet) and Chris Seligman (keyboards, programming and French horn), and with subsequent moves to New York City and Montreal, the lineup has been rounded out to include Amy Millan (guitar and vocals), Evan Cranley (bass, guitar and trombone), Pat McGee (drums) and Steve Ramsey (guitar).  Both Millan and Cranley are also members of Broken Social Scene, another band on the same Canadian label, Arts & Crafts, that gives Stars a home.

I saw Stars open up for Death Cab For Cutie last October here in Nashville, and unfortunately was not as impressed as I had hoped to be.  I did miss a good portion of the band's set though, due to crazy downtown parking, and I wasn't exactly in a position to have a great view of the stage.  My conclusion at the end of that night was that I prefer Stars as a studio act, but I think I'll give the band a second chance this year in Austin.  They have come incredibly close to perfecting their particular brand of indie pop - soft vocals, lush instrumentation, the perfect amount of electronic glitch to keep things interesting - and I think in the right context they could be capable of pulling off a perfect set as well.

"The Big Fight" (from Set Yourself on Fire)
"Elevator Love Letter" (from Heart)

Comments

[marko]

I found this band rather boring. More like music to fall asleep to.

[Jibril]

Oh, I disagree. This band has plenty of upbeat songs, but the ones I adore are the slow-trotting, mellow ones.