Stars

The Five Ghosts 2010

★ ★ ★

In June of 2010 the Canadian indie pop band, Stars, released their fifth studio album, The Five Ghosts. Though less mature and lyrically compelling as previous albums, such as Set Yourself On Fire and Nightsongs, which collectively include brilliant examples of lyrical storytelling in songs like “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” and “The Very Thing”, The Five Ghosts though by no means a bad record, has it’s share of bland tracks and leaves the listener and fans of Stars yearning for a bit more substance, a bit more beauty, and a bit more to sink their teeth into. However, The Five Ghosts doesn’t entirely disappoint. Though this album finds itself to be less intriguing than expected from Stars, it still manages to deliver a few outstanding tracks that pull the album together and make it worth a listen. The track “Changes” does a wonderful job of showcasing Amy Millan’s exquisite voice and is mildly reminiscent of another Stars’ standout, “Calendar Girl”. Both share simple, yet beautiful lyrics that are woven into something intricate and wonderful by Millan’s unique vocals. The opening track on the album, “Dead Hearts” weaves Torquil Campbell’s voice with Amy Millan’s in a sort of musical Q & A, as he asks Amy to relay to him some sort of unreal experience. The song comes together nicely, and as always, when Torquil and Millan’s voices are paired, delivers a certain amount of beauty that cannot be ignored. The album as a whole, however, lacks the lyrical and musical spark that was so obviously present in their last few albums.