Stars: Set Yourself On Fire : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Witty, pretty indie rock for the sentimental geek inside all of us is canada the new sweden? the Montreal indie-pop masterminds in Stars can take their place beside fellow Great White North invaders such as Metric, the Dears, the Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene, several of whose members play in this band, as well. On their fantastic third album, Set Yourself on Fire, Stars build cerebral torch songs out of boy-girl vocals, strings, synths, guitars and the occasional French horn. The music is ornate yet light on its feet, with a communal and almost hippie-ish friendliness behind the lonesome lyrics ("When there is nothing left to burn/You must set yourself on fire"). When Amy Millan sings the dreamy "Ageless Beauty," the effect is psychedelic, like somebody put too much cumin in your valerian-root tea. Stars sound confident enough to set anything on fire.