For Stars - 'It Falls Apart' (Munich)
3/5
By: Matt Tomiak
'It Falls Apart' isn't an album to get you out of bed in the morning. No. Those looking for spark, animation and music that provides a swiftly administered kick up the backside will not find it here. For better or worse (your choice), what the listener will encounter, however, is a commanding, cinematic voyage through the realms of squiffy rock's outer reaches. Yelp.
A collection of fairly directionless, snail-paced musical sedatives doesn't sound exceptionally dynamic, and so 'It Falls Apart' proves. Not to say that it's no good. Desolate, soporific drone-rock might not be a 'buzz' genre but if you're tired of bounding about with giddy, unrestrained joy to the sound of The Hives' new album, perhaps it's worth a look.
Owing as much to the other-worldly soundscapes of Sigur Ros and 'Kid A'-era Radiohead as the conventional alt-country troubadours the band cite as their influences, For Stars are a compellingly off-kilter oddity.
Singer Carlos Foster's voice may well be called 'slight'; his fragile, often nigh-on
inaudible vocals make Neil Young sound beefy and robust. They're Spiritualized played at the wrong RPM (the appositely- named 'Calm Down, Baby') ; The Flaming Lips stumbling back home bleary-eyed at 4am ('It Doesn't Really Matter), or the slightly odd older brother of The Polyphonic Spree's exuberant, wide-eyed toddler - see 'Reminds You'.
Artists in this article: For Stars
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment