CD Review: The North

The North

On Sept. 4, the alternative Montreal-based music group Stars released their fifth album, The North, which can be easily described by two words: electro and love.

Stars is composed of Torquil Campbell, lead singer and songwriter, Amy Millan, singer and guitarist, Evan Cranley, bassist and guitarist, Chris Seligman, guitarist, and finally, Pat McGee, drummer. In this album of 12 tracks, Stars’ members combined their talent and created a sound comparable to the Icelander music group Of Monster and Men, but less upbeat and happy. 

Their songs talk mostly about love, which is a current theme throughout their previous albums. The slow-paced song sang by Millan, “Lights Changing Color,” has romantic lyrics such as “There’s a fire in your chest/ I see the flame/ They better watch it if they pick a fight/ Hold that fire when the day it comes/ It always comes,” which the fire can be related to love, and the power it has. 

“A Song Is A Weapon” also has interesting lyrics which talks about lies and betrayal in a relationship. “You are the one, you are the bullet in the chamber of the gun/ You are the long forgotten predator's son/ And you will be here ages after I'm gone/ I can only hope to kill you with a song” are powerful lyrics sung by Campbell, with an broken-heart voice. 

In most of their songs, Millan and Campbell sing the songs together. For instance, in the upbeat “Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It” and the song “The Theory Of Relativity,” which can be compared to an electro song you would find on the soundtrack of the movie Drive, they alternate their voice between the verse and the chorus, and it creates an atmosphere of unison between the members of the group.

Overall, The North surpasses Stars’ fourth album, The Five Ghosts, and the lyrics are very inspiring. The songs don’t change much though, and someone wouldn’t be able to difference one song from another. That would come with time, of course, but more variety would have been nice, eh?
6/10