In the world of movies, this past summer was fairly forgettable. We've seen better, and we've seen worse. The world of news has been...frustrating. But in the world of music, this summer has been fantastic. So many amazing albums were released this summer that it felt like my mp3 player was always full and my pockets were always empty. So, I'm writing a series of my five favorite albums of this past season. I've never written about music before, so the writing may be rough. Rest assured, the music is much better than the writing.
Stars- The Five Ghosts
The album art looks like an old black and white photo of a little girl from the 1920's. A transparent picture of a family from the same time period is superimposed over it. No one looks sad, but they do look like they belong to a time long past. They look like five ghosts. Ghost stories are the theme of this entire album, and the dreamy indie pop band has never sounded more haunting.
The music is heavily influenced by synthpop, and much of the album is fairly upbeat. The first two-thirds will keep the foot tapping. It's especially easy to dance to the surprisingly fun "We Don't Want Your Body." The complex, always interesting music, plus the beautiful vocals and nuanced harmonies of Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan are enough to keep me coming back to this album all summer. But it's not until you pay attention to the lyrics that you realize how heartbreaking this album is. The Five Ghosts combines the bittersweet love stories Stars is known for with ideas of death and loss and how to keep on loving in a world where everything has to end. Even the poppiest, catchiest songs have a sharp tinge of sadness throughout, such as "I Died So I Could Haunt You" in which Millan laments that "I died so I can haunt you, but you're never there." Depending on your mood, you could either dance or cry.
The only criticism I have is that the final third is slightly less memorable than the rest of the album. I wish they could have ended with a song as powerful as they began. Instead, it fades out in a whisper, I suppose like a ghost would. The Five Ghosts is an intelligent and interesting enough album that I can focus solely on its music for its entirety, but it's easy enough to listen to that it can run in the background at work without distracting me. I imagine this will be a favorite album of mine for a long time.