In Stores Now: The Five Ghosts by Stars

Illustration by Frances Beem from Charlotte B. Herr's How Freckle Frog Made Herself Pretty, 1913

Canadian synth-pop combo Stars has released a string of excellent but flawed albums over the last few years, and The Five Ghosts continues the streak. The difference this time around is that reviewers seem to be dropping the cumulative weight of the band's past sins on their heads - the responses to the album have been disproportionately negative, as if critics are piling on after giving the band a free pass for too long. Personally, I think the band deserved some backlash after their last album, 2007's wildly uneven In Our Bedroom After the War. The Five Ghosts is uneven in its own way, but I think it's a more interesting album overall.

Where In Our Bedroom... seemed scatter-shot and unfocused, The Five Ghosts is too consistent, almost monochrome by comparison. The album's songs focus on the realm of spirits, and the thick, glossy production is a good match for this theme. The first five songs on The Five Ghosts are excellent, with the surging "Fixed" (a sequel of sorts to their "hit" song "Ageless Beauty"), "Wasted Daylight", and the borderline-tacky "We Don't Want Your Body" being highlights. The latter song does have some unappetizing lyrics like, "You flash your trash to turn me on," and "Your soul is searching ecstasy so you could have some some sex with me." Mmmmm - who doesn't like to have "some sex"?

The second half of the album sags quite a bit, with limp numbers like "He Dreams He's Awake" and "The Last Song Ever Written" weighing it down. These songs suffer from Torquil Campbell's colorless vocal performances that are the album's other weak point. After my first few listens, I thought he wasn't contributing much to the vocals. Then I realized that he just wasn't making memorable contributions to the album's best songs - his singing lacks the edge and personality that gave the band an interesting dynamic on previous albums. On the other hand, Amy Millan sounds great on this album - her voice fits the atmospheric sound of the songs better than I thought it would. This is clear on songs like "Wasted Daylight", where she nails one of those huge choruses that make Stars' flawed albums more than worthwhile.

"Wasted Daylight" by Stars