By Jennifer Colbourne (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: September 12, 2012
Imagine an entire album composed of the slowest, unremarkable sounds from The Five Ghosts and In Our Bedroom after the War, and you have Stars’ newest album The North. From a technical point of view, there’s nothing to complain of; everything is tight, the musicianship flawless – yet Stars seem to have lost that certain sparkle. This is a lacklustre tragedy for long-time fans anticipating a comeback revival like Set Yourself on Fire.
The North initially gets off to a weak start with “The Theory of Relativity,” which begins with the line “The only way I see this happening is in an extended ride north,” followed by obnoxious ‘80s synthesizer. It seems that with this lyric Stars are trying to recapture the genius of the beginning of “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” (“When there is nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire”), but fails here because it lacks the insightful, poetical punch of the latter. It may be a fitting tribute to their Canadian roots (the speaker being celebrated Canadian pianist Glenn Gould), but it comes off contrived. Certainly it lacks the raw indie edge of having Torquil Campbell’s dad do it.
While the first track is a slightly troubling, at the very least it’s a bit more remarkable than the rest of album. It’s difficult to pinpoint just where The North goes wrong. Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan’s vocal work is as enchanting and beautiful as ever. The instrumentation is still at-times ethereal, at-times electronically upbeat, though perhaps it could be argued they could use a bit more string (recall the haunting cello of “Your Ex-Lover is Dead”) and a lot less synth. Still, Stars are strong, capable musicians and this shows as always. Yet it’s as if they’re trying too hard to be, well, Stars. It’s overthought and … boring.
The one gem of the album just so happens to be the one song that breaks the classic Stars mould, “Do You Want to Die Together.” It’s a strange yet pleasing combination of ‘50s doo wop guitar with striking moments of distortion and surreal dreamy vocals. The lyrics are surprisingly simple, very unlike Stars’ usual trademark eloquence, yet appealing nonetheless. It also transitions wonderfully into “Lights Changing Colour,” though this song, like the others, starts off with appealing potential which rapidly dissolves into lulling monotony.
Stars seem to be a part of the trend with alternative indie rock bands: starting off with one or two enjoyable albums with a few great hits, culminating in a landmark album (The New Pornographers’ Twin Cinema, The Decemberists’ The Crane Wife, Stars’ Set Yourself on Fire), followed by another good, but not half-as-stellar album. Then comes a decline into album-after-album that either sounds the same or just falls short of the mark.
Why? Have these bands lost that impetus of struggling young artists? Have they been lulled into complacency? Are the expectations just too high? If only we knew, because mediocrity is more heartbreaking in some ways than spectacular failure. Regardless, more musical risks need to be taken, or these once-spectacular bands are doomed to fade away.
The North is enjoyable enough, and there are good moments in every song. But it all seems to blend together, even after a dozen or so listens. It’s not a bad album, but it’s not a good album either. It’s completely lukewarm. It’s probably worth buying if you’re a diehard Stars fan, but it’s doomed to be background music even for the most dedicated.
Do Stars have nothing left to burn? Hopefully not, because they desperately need to re-set themselves on fire.
