Though very
Momus (whom
Stars count as a fan) circa Voyager,
Heart is much more twee pop despite similar keyboards and electronics.
Stars work with bittersweet grooves, sleepy singing, and analog gurgles -- which makes for a charming collection of electronic chamber pop. More
New Order and
Saint Etienne than
Smiths, and with male and female vocals, the band comes across as an electro-pop
Belle & Sebastian. Still, most of the songs lack the immediate hook of their folky counterparts.
Stars songs tend to unfold more slowly, from the brilliant retro-futuristic "Death to Death" to the disco-lite
Pet Shop Boys-styled "The Vanishing."
Amy Millan's gorgeous voice is the group's greatest strength -- on the bouncy, propulsive "Elevator Love Letter," for example. It's not surprising that
Millan has contributed to movie soundtracks -- the entire album would sit most comfortably as the decidedly outsider accompaniment to an appropriately indie "Romantic Comedy" (incidentally also the title of one of the record's most beautifully simple and sunny songs). ~ Charles Spano