Stars
In Our Bedroom After the War
Play In Our Bedroom After the War
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AMG Review of In Our Bedroom After the War
Jason Lymangrover
All Music GuideIn Our Bedroom After the War may prove that Torquil Campbell would be better off orchestrating Broadway show tunes instead of playing the part of an indie pop frontman. The titular song that ends Stars' fourth album is a heavily layered theatrical production laced with birds singing and bells ringing as Campbell's relationship culminates with a choir of voices and a massive symphonic crescendo. Campbell and crew are striving for a bigger-is-better formula, watering down the majority of their ock sensibilities with heavily layered chamber pop and this makes for a mixed bag. While some of Stars' best songs appear on this record, others are performed with such an overstated bravado that it renders them too sour to digest. "Personal" is a character-driven melodramatic ditty that chronicles a protagonist who places a newspaper ad and is stood up because she is too obese. Two schmaltzy piano allads feature Campbell delivering his best imitation of Morrissey covering Elton John, in a manner of campy crooning that could easily be interpreted as pomposity. With the exception of those decadent stinkers, and a few mediocre numbers, Campbell and Amy Milan churn out some of their best work and harmonize soothingly throughout. One of their most instantly catchy singles "Take Me to the Riot" capitalizes on a snappy hook vaguely reminiscent of Ned's Atomic Dustbin's "Grey Cell Green," and sits well alongside the candy-covered Rhodes and orchestral flavored breakbeat of "My Favorite Book," which could fit on a greatest-hits record by the Cardigans. The themes of sweet, sweet lost heartbreak are still evident, and the enhanced sheen makes the material sound more like contemporary easy listening music than ever. Since the group is on the Arts & Crafts label (home to Broken Social Scene), they can still be described as indie, but they're just barely holding on to that credibility. While it wouldn't be surprising to hear Set Yourself on Fire while shopping at Urban Outfitters, this album seems ideal for The Gap. As a whole, the band sounds tighter than ever, and if they continue down this road, and keep inflating their production like a balloon, there's a danger that they could easily go pop. Until then, keep your head up, there's no need to reach into their back catalog just yet. [Also released with bonus tracks.]
This song totally made my morning, so I thought I would share
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He taps upon the glass when I'm asleep, so now I keep my window closed at nightS.O.S. in morse code when the wind blows, he is waiting for his moment to be right
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Sneak Peek: New Stars Album!
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Mark the calendar people, September 25th is the day the new Stars album "In Our Bedroom After The War" will be dropping (not that we all won't get our grubby little hands on it through the internet several months before). It's the bands fourth full length, and the band is expected to tour for the better part of the year after it drops. Good, good times indeed!Here's a taste of the greatness tha...
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Stars Announce Sad Robots Tour/EP
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--- - |- So I've been pretty impressed with Stars since…um…I first heard of them way back when Nightsongs came out. Well they're at it again and about to embark on a new tour with the fabulous Bell X1. For this tour they've adopted a new visual and audio them, Sad Robots. Fans attending these select shows will [...] ~~- Stars
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Poking around on MOG has Started to pay off...
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Post my declaration to explore my MOG I would like to say that this thing is getting better. I made my first purchase the other day at JB based on my MOG exploring. I had never heard of STARS and most likely would never have come across them if it was not for the click here, read there exploring this thing has on offer. And I have to say I am stoked with my purchases: set your self on fire and ...
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New song : Stars : Why I Want to Save You
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Stars have been touring seemingly nonstop since the release of In Our Bedroom After the War, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a new song posted on their MySpace called Why I Want to Save You. The bulletin announcing the song says it's about rollerskating and falling in love with your customer. Well, OK. I think that's something we can all relate to... The song is pretty and subdued, and...
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STARS "Take Me To The Riot"
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From STARS new album IN OUR BEDROOM AFTER THE WAR
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In Our Bedroom
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So for those of you haven't been aware, Canada is certainly growing on me. I can tell you the very day my love affair began with our neighbors to the north, and that was November 18th, 2005. I was going to see my favorite band from the northern city of Bellingham, and they had chosen a band called "Stars" to open for them. When the stars got on stage, i was prepared for anything, but i wasn'...
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 "In Our Bedroom After the War")
