Though very Momus (whom Stars count as a fan) circa Voyager, Heart is much more wee pop despite similar keyboards and electronics. Stars work with bittersweet grooves, sleepy singing, and analog gurgles -- which makes for a charming collection of electronic chamber pop. More New Order and Saint Etienne than Smiths, and with male and female vocals, the band comes across as an electro-pop Belle & Sebastian. Still, most of the songs lack the immediate hook of their folky counterparts. Stars songs tend to unfold more slowly, from the brilliant retro-futuristic "Death to Death" to the disco-lite Pet Shop Boys-styled "The Vanishing." Amy Millan's gorgeous voice is the group's greatest strength -- on the bouncy, propulsive "Elevator Love Letter," for example. It's not surprising that Millan has contributed to movie soundtracks -- the entire album would sit most comfortably as the decidedly outsider accompaniment to an appropriately indie "Romantic Comedy" (incidentally also the title of one of the record's most beautifully simple and sunny songs).
I had heard the name Stars flying around in different places and I finally broke down and gave them a run. I DL'd their two records and have let them slowly creep into my conciousness. While I was driving to work today my iPod played "Elevator Love LEtter" from the record Heart. At first I was struck by how Ivy- ish the song was, and I love me some Ivy. Then it hit me- this isn't an Ivy son...
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I was talking with a friend of mine at a record label today, and asked him to turn me on to a few bands that were new and exciting. He named 5 acts of various genres, and I spent all day listening to them on Rhapsody. They've all got full length albums out.I heard a lot of style, atmosphere, dynamics, color in the music of all the bands. None of them "sucked". But honestly, what I didn't hear, ...
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I had heard the name Stars flying around in different places and I finally broke down and gave them a run. I DL'd their two records and have let them slowly creep into my conciousness. While I was driving to work today my iPod played "Elevator Love LEtter" from the record Heart. At first I was struck by how Ivy- ish the song was, and I love me some Ivy. Then it hit me- this isn't an Ivy son...
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"Sometimes the TV is like a loverSinging softly as you fall asleepYou wake up in the morning and it's still thereAdding up the things you'll never be"--??"Heart"?? by Stars
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 "Heart")
