CD of The Week

"Time can be a tyrant but it's always served you well." The line from "A Song is a Weapon" - off Stars' sixth full-length album The North - could aptly describe the band itself. Through six releases in just over 10 years, Stars has stayed consistent in creating solid releases that are just as mindlessly catchy as they are complex and thoughtful.

Those who felt disappointed by 2010's The Five Ghosts should find a lot more to love about The North. Earlier reviews noted how it's a return to form for Stars, evoking musical conceits and emotional themes from their career high Set Yourself On Fire. It's a marriage between what they tried to make work on The Five Ghosts and the formula that endeared them to fans from the start. And in reading those other reviews, I feel like I'm the only one this album didn't really do it for. If you know what Stars sounds like, then you know what this album sounds like. And that's not a bad thing. It just sometimes feels a little stale.

The North packs all of its punch within the first four tracks. "Theory of Relativity" sounds like something we all heard on The Five Ghosts, but better developed this time around with an irresistible synth-y bass. And really, who can resist a song that contains "a thing we call a cyber girl"? "Backlines" propels the reckless energy forward with Amy Millan's vocals as sublime as ever. The real standout, and arguably the strongest track on the album, rumbles in with the bass line of "Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It." This track could easily hold its own against other defining tracks from Stars' career - it's up there at "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" caliber with all of its raw and honest emotion and fervent worldview, "The only way to last / And the only way to live it / Is to hold on when you get love / And let go when you give it."

After "Through the Mines," which starts off as a soft, thoughtful Amy ballad with an unexpected build at the end, the rest of the album just falls flat for me. That's not to say it's not a solid album. Both fans and first-time listeners will find easy appeal here. It's familiar but self-assured in all of its dancy beats and thoughtful ballads.

Stars return to Philadelphia on March 6th at The Trocadero.