Set Yourself on Fire by Stars

June 11, 2005 | 3 Comments

The Artist: Stars
The Song: The Big Fight
[Launch Player]
The Album:Set Yourself on Fire
Released 2005
Recommended if you like: Broken Social Scene, New Order, Arcade Fire, The Dears, Ivy, Postal Service

I’m not sure what they put in the water up in Montreal, but can I get some? That city is putting out simply the best music around. You’ve got The Dears, The Arcade Fire, The Stills, and one of my recent favorites Stars.

Keeping on with the theme from last week, they’ve got a kind of lighthearted, New Order-ish feel, if a bit more sugary and a bit less cluby. Torquil Campbell, the male vocal half, really reminds of Bernard Sumner and when combined with Amy Millan’s they’ve got the best pop harmony this side of the Postal Service.

Set Yourself on Fire takes a bit of a different path their last album, their third, Heart, which is excellent. This time around they’re a bit more soulful and seem to have branched out musically some. This is particularly evident on tracks like this week’s cut, the bleepy-bluesy “The Big Fight” which is a great track that seems very different for them. Some of this was a bit hard to get used to, but after a few listens I settled into the new sound, much like they seem to have done.

Still, they do retain the pop sensibility that made Heart so fun and it’s clear that they’re really starting to nail it. It’s just edgy enough, just diverse enough and just unique enough to be a real stand out in the world of indie pop. It’s accessible, but still alternative enough to be cool and have that kind of intangible timelessness that will keep them in many a hipster’s rotation for a long while.

Filed under: Album of The Moment
Keyword Tags: stars montreal broken+social+scene pop indie music new+order

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