Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
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Free Music Notes for In Our Bedroom After the War
Free Music Review: Cinematic love songs
Hit: 5 Stars
"In Our Bedroom After the War" is the first Stars album that I'm listening to as a fan whereas their previous album, "Set Yourself on Fire" was the one that made me a fan. That makes this album gain a slight disadvantage since I might be biased and unfairly compare the 2. If there's anything that knocks Bedroom down a tad is that there isn't really that downright classic Stars track from pop hit Ageless Beauty or the emotive Calendar Girl or even something as simple as the endearing Sleep Tonight. However, Bedroom in a way has a tone that makes it a bit more harder to hate yet not as easy to love.
The album starts off with "The Beginning After the End" which is probably one of the most weirdly catchy instrumentals I've heard lately. Predominantly synth driven, it's got hummable melodies and a strangely relaxing beat. Only thing that knocks it down a tad is the prerequisite quote that references the album title. From there we get the first song released on the net, "The Night Starts Here", which has vocalists Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell trading verses. It's a nice song but it doesn't really take off and it's main hook isn't as huge an impact.
The record shifts between songs mainly sung by Campbell (the catchy single "Take Me to the Riot", the iffy "Barricade" or the climactic title track), Millan by herself (the lovely jazzy track "My Favorite Book", the likable rock track "Window Bird" or the heavy "B****es in Tokyo"). You notice Millan is amazing at solo tracks while Campbell is alright but you notice Amy's way better at showing emotional range. But then again, Campbell's more "flat" vocals are perfect for personal ad song "Personal" with Campbell playing the distant male and Millan playing the hopeful female.
Included with the album is a 55-minute documentary which has backstage looks at the tour behind "Set Yourself on Fire" and includes several live performances including a lovely "Calendar Girl" rendition and "Celebration Guns" set against fireworks. My only complaint is that my favorite tracks from the last record; them being "Sleep Tonight" and "One More Night" aren't included. Boo.
It doesn't really have massive radio hits but for Stars fans it should be a welcome album to listen to. Just know that it might not have the immediate effect so give it time to sink in.
Free Music Review: Stars' best work so far
Hit: 5 Stars
Let me start by saying that I love this band, and I generally don't even like pop music. Stars is a bit different though. They have a depth and sentimentality that elevates them above typical pop music. Their lyrics actually have something to say most of the time, and the music provides an array of lush soundscapes that provide the setting to their stories.
At first listen, I found this album to be a bit bland. The second time around, a few songs caught my attention. Finally, at the third listen all the way through, it just clicked. I love this album now, and it's found its way into my CD player pretty much every day now for the past few weeks. In my opinion, the strongest tracks are "Take Me To The Riot" followed by the luscious "My Favourite Book." Things just keep rolling with the next track "Midnight Coward" and the 80s-tinged "The Ghost of Genova Heights." I just can't keep myself from smiling and singing in falsetto along to the uber-catchy chorus on this song. Track 8, "Barricade" offers up a hauntingly beautiful effort from singer Torquil Campbell. Track 9 is another highlight as Amy Millan offers up her beautiful voice to the song "Window Bird." Finally, the last track (#13) "In Our Bedroom After the War" brings the album to a dramatic close.
I love this album. I simply can't keep it out of my head. Stars is an exciting band in that every album they've put out is better than the previous one. I can't wait to see how they continue to evolve as songwriters. In summary, my favorite tracks are #3,4,5,6,8,9, & 13. The only tracks that I find uninteresting are the intro track, and the 7th track, "Personal." Other than that, this is a strong album all the way through.
Free Music Review: Stunning
Hit: 5 Stars
Wow. This band never fails to amaze me.The whole CD didn't catch me on the first listen. It was actually not until the 3rd listen that the WHOLE CD caught me emotionally. Each track on this CD switches my emotions. One track can make me happy and the next track can make me feel mellow. For example, the track "Bitches in Tokyo" makes we want get off my a** and run a mile; the track "The Ghost of Genova Heights" makes me want to get up and do a dance; while "Today Will Be Better, I Swear" is as motivating as a therapist..lol. I must also mention that in this abum, there is not one track that is as fast-paced as the fastest paced tracks from the "Set Yourself On Fire" album. For most tracks in this album, the lyrics are more of a serious nature than the previous album.
As far as comparing Stars to other groups and mentioning who they sound like, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to compare them to anyone else and say they are influenced or similar to some other band/bands from history because who cares. They are Stars!... and as I said earlier about different emotions, each track on this CD is quite diverse. Stars catches your soul, entirely, and has you listening to them and only them. I am only concentrating on 'Stars' when I listen to them. I swear, the only thing you probably will care to notice and think about (besides the lyrics and the enjoyment of the background music) while you are listening to this CD is just the specific genre some tracks sound like, for example, 80's pop.
If you are already a fan of Stars' previous ablums, chances are you will also like this one. I would really love to see them live now.
Free Music Review: Not really expecting much, but BLOWN AWAY
Hit: 5 Stars
After hearing "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" 2 years ago, I then quickly decided to buy "Set Yourself on Fire," because I figured that if they released such a beautiful song, the others must at least be halfway decent. After buying the CD, I was relatively impressed with the Stars' quirkyness and their quixotic approach to recording songs, but I was overall slightly disappointed. The songs were basically all the same, ostensibly just an attempt to weird out their listeners with awkward noises more than anything. But, after buying this CD on a whim, the Stars really hit the nail on the head with their "In Our Bedroom After the War."
After listening to the first song, "The Beginning After the End," I thought it was going to be the same old Stars and their weirdness manefested on yet another boring CD. However, after listening through the entire album, it honestly was a musical masterpiece. The piano throughout the whole CD feels like a sort of treat to the ears. Amy Millian's voice is so subtle but yet so outspoken, definitely one of my favorite sounds ever. The CD shows the Stars' wide variety of musical expertise and gifts the listeners with a beautiful sound pleasing in every way.
I highly suggest this album, it was without a doubt a very good choice.
Free Music Review: My favorite album of 2007 and one of my favorites ever
Hit: 5 Stars
"In Our Bedroom After the War" is an amazing album. The way that the album holds together is absolutely beautiful, and the idea of a war acts as a metaphor for a crumbling relationship. The musicianship is superb, the songwriting is very interesting and the lyrics give me chills every time. Amy Milan's and Torquil Campell's voice blend absolutely perfectly and there are few singers who have such a good sound singing together as they do. Every song is wonderful, but a few of my favorites include "Barricade" in which Campell sings solo with sparse piano accompaniment and really shows off his voice, "Personal" which uses awesome dialog lyrics alternating between the two singers to illustrate a failed attempt at internet dating, "The Ghost of Genova Heights" which is very catchy and features Campell doing a very Prince-esque pre-chorus and of chorus, the epic, closing title track which is filled with so much hope and energy. It is definitely different from their previous effort, featuring a more sparse sound and a return to prominence of keyboards over guitars. This album is absolutely beautiful and I don't know that I'll ever get tired of it.