Stars' Five Ghosts

Stars have come such a long way since "Elevator Love Letter." In fact, they've come so far, it's hard to even think that this band was once considered just an indie pop band. This is a band that has so gracefully embraced a fondness for grandiose songs and dramatic emotionally draining lyrics that they should be remembered more for the body of their work than any one song. Their latest album, The Five Ghosts, travels further down this path of embracing all things with flare and see the band developing into a finely matured pop group who are able to shift directions, embrace sounds, and write songs that encapsulate their entire history in under five minutes.

The Five Ghosts quite simply is a fantastic record that sees itself in love with it's inner Cure as much as itself and when they sing, "I Died So I Could Haunt You," you can't help but feel the lovely gloom that chills this record. While wearing an obvious shade of grey, Stars manages to let some degree of sun shine through. As if to prove the point, the song that sits just next to "I Died," is a swirling, absolutely adorable song called, "Fixed," which sees the band dust itself off despite it's slightly dark overtones. That's the funny thing, not only about Stars, but The Five Ghosts as a whole; they and this album manage to take all this provoking lyrical content and put a glossy gleeful shimmer on it that hides everything with a subversiveness that's so sly it's genius. Who knew all this haunting stuff could be so cheery.

Stars have continually gotten better and you can here it all throughout The Five Ghosts. The complex arrangements, the sweeping songs, and the instrumentation it's all become so rich, textural, and intricately beautiful. Even when the band slows things down, such as on, "Changes," things are far from simple. "Changes," is a ballad that will make your heart jump and it's opulent, orchestral arrangement almost evokes more emotion than the lyrics. It's a gorgeous song that's exhaustive and just about perfect. To say these guys have matured is really an understatement. Be it by age, trial by fire, touring endlessly, or releasing a gaggle of records Stars have pretty much perfected their sound and have augmented their songs into something bigger than they could have ever hoped for. The Five Ghosts may not be their best album, but it's just about perfect and it's exertive trip through so much emotional territory is truly a joy to listen to.

Over the course of five albums, Stars have yet to record a bad album and The Five Ghosts is no different. Simply fantastic, seductive, soulful pop that's emotionally draining in all the best ways The Five Ghosts is pretty much essential.