If there’s one thing Canadian quintet Stars has been able to do for the entire duration of its 10-year run it’s make us sigh wistfully over beautifully crafted lyrics and gorgeous, blooming melodies. Since 2007’s In Our Bedroom After The War, the band members (many of whom moonlight as Broken Social Scene players) scattered for a while to work on some very un-Stars-like solo and side projects. However, rest assured that just-released fifth full-length, The Five Ghosts (Vagrant/Soft Revolution), is Stars still being heartbreakingly Stars, with an underlying theme of mortality featuring lyrics that focus on love in a “til death do us part” kind of way. Prepare to swoon when you see them play the album live on their tour of Europe and North America this fall. Evan Cranley, Torquil Campbell, Amy Millan, Chris Seligman and Patrick McGee are guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with Cranley.
Torquil: The English caf is the thing I miss most about England. Shrouded in steam and smoke, they serve cheap, grease-laden breakfasts to workers and hungover party pigs all over the country. Grim, dirty and delicious, cafs have found their way into the songs and writing of dozens of English artists, including Graham Greene and Saint Etienne. The loneliness and anonymity of these places inspire a lot of the world of Stars stories. May I recommend the full vegetarian breakfast? Fried eggs, fried mushroom, fried tomato, fried bread, baked beans, veggie sausage, cup of tea, daily broadsheet, fat hash spliff, one-day travel card. The best of England.
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5-huEFmOEA
