Those who know me just a little bit don't usually suspect what a sucker I am for fey, lilting pop music. But oh, under my tough, sweaty, 107% male persona, what a sucker I am!
Stars apparently does know of my secret little weakness, and with Nightsongs they've played right into it, creating a perfect, CD-sized dollop of smooth, coy, playful synth-based pop music pudding. Add a brilliant reworking of The Smiths' "This Charming Man" as the cherry on top, and I'm pretty much doomed to gobble this stuff up as my fellow dock-workers/academic robot mind control researchers hoot derisively. But let them laugh; the fey shall inherit the earth.
Now, before I get too starry-eyed, I should say that Stars aren't exactly musical trailblazers; this sort of gentle, low-key electronica with pretty voices on top has been around for a while now, and Stars haven't really added anything new to the genre. That said, they are really good at putting together skittery beats, atmospheric synths and breathy boy/girl vocals. Not only that, but they've also managed to crank out an entire disc's worth of instantly memorable choruses, which is pretty impressive.
"My Radio" reminds me of Bran Van 3000's "Drinking in L.A.", but minus the diva element. Although it sounds like a pretty good single to me, it's actually one of my least favorite tracks on the disc; I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's somehow too obviously a hit. On the other hand, while covering "This Charming Man" would seem to be a sure-fire road to ruin, Stars did such a good job that only a total turd could manage to not love it.
"International Rock Star" is straight out of the Smiths songbook, a first-person tale of fame and misfortune complemented by a slew of samples of what appear to be old school English actors sounding tragic. "The Very Thing" screams Belle and Sebastian, albeit a B&S who've switched from decaf chai tea to decaf double espressos. Dorky synth lines, farty bass and Depeche Modal vocals ("We drank champagne like it was rain") is the winning combination on "Tru".
Before you're scared off by all of this name dropping, I should say that while Stars aren't shy about flaunting their influences early and often, they've also managed to create their own distinct style, which is largely driven by the lovely boy/girl vocals from Torquil Campbell, Emily Haines and Amy Millan. (I think that Haines has left the band and that Millan is her replacement.)
This disc is probably not for everyone; it's overly-pretty and a bit pretentious in spots, and even manages to push me close to my sappy synth-pop limit once in a while -- but that's like complaining that there's too much soy whipped cream on your non-dairy double chocolate mocha fundge sundae. Trust me, you'll get over it.
