Montreal-based future million-sellers Stars have the right formulaworking for them. The instrumental competance is flawless, theproduction is fantastic, and the sincerity is genuine, but I can't getover my polar gut feelings about the dichotomy of the two singers.Songs like "Elevator Love Letter," and "Look Up," with Amy Millantaking the lead vocal, are both ear-grabbingly pop-powerful andwistfully surreal to hold the attention, as well as her parts on songslike "Heart." These tunes alone make a strong, compelling case in favorof this record. However, most of the material in between, sung byTorquil Campbell are a bit too timid for my tastes. In almost allcases, the group executes a fine balance between guitars, violin, andboth electronic and organic percussion. The songs are undeniablyprepped for greatness, which doesn't render them completely wishy-washyor forgettable, but I'm only left with a feeling of mediocrity withclich? love songs that aren't challenging enough to make me keep comingback. Rest assured, however, that the true standout songs from here arepowerful enough to be forever immortalized to a small number of peoplein the form of handwritten mix tapes that come directly from the heart.samples:
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