Canadian-born indie-babes Stars are back with their ninth studio album, From Capelton Hill. Marked by the band’s signature lush and vivid instrumentation and Amy Millan’s soft-yet-potent vocals draped over the top, it comes to pass that Capelton Hill showcases everything that the group does best.
“Pretenders” is a kicking track, fun and free and full of a dreamy optimism, even if it is a delirious optimism: “We said goodbye to the dive bars/The gilded foyer unfolded/We were Rockefellers/We were the best of the pretenders/All our bets on being young forever.” Whirling and spinning, the track comes and goes in a blink but shows a slight darkness behind a fun facade.
The next track, “Patterns,” is decidedly slower and begins with a darker tone. There seems to be far less elaborate instrumentation on this track, with a heavier hand focused on the lyrics. This is your straight-up hopeful love song: “What I wouldn’t do for you/What we couldn’t get through/You’re beautiful when you cry/And what you might have done to me/We nevеr let each other off еasy/But we don’t do goodbyes.” That, honestly, is the gist of the song, and it didn’t leave much of an impact on me.
“Build a Fire,” on the other hand, is a stormer of a track, and I adore it. Though there’s nothing particularly standout sonically, the beat just sticks. And the lyrics, the lyrics just pair so, so well: “Back in the empty city again/Waiting for your passport, running from your friends/Outside thеy’re burning down the past/They’rе dreaming in their sleep if they think it’s gonna last.” It’s such a good dance song that resonates with youth and freedom and utter and pure abandon.
The title track “Capelton Hill” is the true shining star of this album. Beginning with delicate piano phrases and a weaving duet between Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, this is a truly magical story song adorned with twirls of acoustic guitar and an undercurrent of piano. The music drifts and carries the story along in a gentle and dreamy way: “Sweeping up the ashes of the fire/From when we set ourselves alight/A different sea of faces singing all our songs to us/And a different city every night.” This track is a really gorgeous punch in the gut, which is exactly what I’d expect from Stars.
From Capelton Hill truly is a Stars album, through and through. It’s a testament to the band’s skill and artistry, to the dream weaving and hazy storytelling they are known for.
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