Stars - The Scala, London - 8/10/07
5/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
Stars are a band very much in their prime. Their new album may not be as much of an all-rounder as their last outing, 'Set Yourself On Fire', but it undoubtedly has their biggest, best song in the shape of 'Take Me To The Riot', the tune that broke this transatlantic by-way-of Manchester troupe to their UK audience.
Two decades ago The Beautiful South were conveying aridity of lyric with bitterness of chord and arranging it into soulful pop melodies that threw out a vibe of the times, an Englishness, a Smiths-ian sound of Manchester, that urban decay, and yet this modern day Canadian band have come closer to that ethos than any British born collaboration. They share the South's on stage dynamic, the swapping of lead vocalist, the well-tuned voices and that dry, dry lyrical acumen so smooth you could almost forget it if it wasn't the focus of their songs. Songs that live, crash and build as much as The Pixies, ushering a deafness so deathly you could here the clattering of feet on the dancefloor one second and be bowled over by the engulfing vibrations of the floorboards the next, taken aback by the energy of 'Bitches In Tokyo' and seduced by the harmonic bliss of 'The Night Starts Here'.
The duel vocal attack of the band allows them to cooperate with their audience, taking the set up and down as they please, toying with the crowd's emotions like the sadistic bastards they'd almost certainly be if it weren't for the beautiful nature of their decidedly spectacular music. This band is about conveying emotions; the new album being about urban warfare and the story that could evolve in the mind of a musician, and boy can this band sell that philosophy and story live with a sense of on-stage fun and romance normally abandoned by most bands whose only interaction with their colleges demands a brief note of banter. These guys seem to enjoy each others company, play fighting and larking their way through the more unforced, less attentive songs, and coming together when they need to break a point into the heart of their audience.
The eerie silence that preceded 'Your Ex-Lover Is Dead' was quite something in front of a crowd of this size and the attention the band can sustain even between songs is fascinating, as all but the deeply cynical tried ardently to think of something funny to shout, the winning vocalisation going out to a random cry of "Happy Thanksgiving" and then into the song which along with 'Reunion', shaped the best moments of their previous LP. From the control and charm of that number to the bedazzlement of 'Ageless Beauty' this gang of musicians know how to use variety in sound to gain the maximum response and while other Smiths-isms such as tossing flowers around give you a visual reminder of a Manchester yesteryear, the real intelligence of Torquil Campbell is in the brazen vocal recall. When they want to be, this band is New Order, yet at other times have the storytelling song writing class of early Killers or grouch of Bruce Sprinsteen and while the multiplicity of personas Stars have could put them in the same field as so many bands of varied rank it's almost ceaseless, the only fair response is to liken them to nobody. Not many bands have this knack for range and live, Stars are a band that ooze vibrant dignity, the magnitude of great songs and the thrill of a heartfelt and enthralling performance that gets the nerds and dancers going akin to likewise captivation.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment