Customer Reviews

Different Stars

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Too often, I arrive at an Amazonian description and find People Preaching To The Converted reviews ("what would Jesus do...? Well, He couldn't do better than this masterpiece, it's Sgt. Pepper meets Nevermind meets Songs in the Key of Life, and John Lennon would've given his left n*t to write this stuff") or The Other Side of The Coin review ("I bought this POS on someone's recommendation, and it was SO F-ING BAD, I shot the person who recommended it and left 'im for dead...buzzards gotta eat, same as the worms...").

(...melodramatic pause...)

If you enjoy dream pop, spend your money here. It's a cousin to Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You", but better, since Anna-Lynne Williams has more bite to her voice (check out how she phrases the word "burns" in the lyric "when the house burns down" on the glorious "Alone"), and this album boasts a superior number of "(g)ently mesmerizing ... haunting" songs by comparison to "So Tonight That I Might See" (the standouts, in order: Alone, Fragment, Lie in the Sound, Different Stars, Vapour Trail. I repeat, these are the standouts, not a roster of The Only Good Songs).

A closer analogy is the sound of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game", but with the guitars turned way way up, past Jangling, past Gleaming Byrd-like twelve-string, past Reverberating, all the way to Shimmering (plus, at times, you get delicate piano, like all the piano hammers had been fitted with booties knitted by your sweet ole Grandma). It has that echoing Western Landscape night-time feel (whadda want, I'm not getting paid to write this). The sound is so lush, if you transmitted it to orbiting satellites and beamed it back to Earth, you'd get world peace.

No, really.

In short, this is the sort of thing for people who like this sort of thing.

I was moved considerably by the earnest, heartfelt vocal delivery of Anna-Lynne Williams on the band's debut, and found their style of sincere, passionate music, which mixes elements of indie, shoegaze, and acoustic folk, to be a refreshing and mature alternative to what I was more accustomed to reviewing and listening to.

My response to the band's sophomore material was just as ecstatic, and in some respects, I was even more impressed. Though "Anchor" had quite a few confessional down tempo ballads, there were also a few catchier and playful tracks to keep the CD from being too emotionally overbearing for lighter hearted listeners. This time around, the band appears to be in more sullen spirits, for a consistent tone of heartache permeates the entire disc. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you! After the slightly more varied moods on "Anchor," Trespassers could have gone either way and written more commercially viable material or they could have concentrated on producing tracks with a more resolute melancholy. I am glad they chose the latter, because it suits them better and the overall result is a poignant and sophisticated album that will still appeal to a broad audience of music fans. The spectrum of emotion encompassed on this disc is something that any sensitive person can easily relate to. It's reflective, quiet music for those moments when everything else seems so silly and contrived. This is just real, organic music performed by confident and mature songwriters, straightforward and stripped of any pretense.

The disc opens with a short intro that is comprised of hypnotic swells of gorgeous guitar flanges, which immediately anticipates the essence of tender sadness that characterizes the entire album. This transcendent introduction gives way to the light acoustic chord strums and reverberated slide guitars of "Lie In The Sound," the CDs first proper track. Like the title appropriately suggests, the listeners are meant to release themselves, and do just that: `lie in the sound' and bask in the warm encompassing beauty of this band. Anna-Lynne's pleading alto adds the final touch, as she croons the song's initial verses "I love you more than I should / so much more than what is good for me." Light percussion is introduced, as additional tracks of atmospheric guitar effects build to the reach the chorus, which perfectly characterizes the band's multi-layered sound. Acoustic guitars strum beneath a shower of jangling clean electric arpeggios, while melodies are often accented by loose echoing piano chords and guitar slides. Haunting and affective, stark organic simplicity never sounded so serene.

Perhaps the album's strongest track appears fourth on the disc. Entitled "Alone," the song is a blissful marriage of rhythmic indie rock and hints of a slight alt.country twang. A mid-paced rhythm produced by light rim shots and a lulling bass line is at the heart of the song's beginning and verses, while fantastic echo guitars add a perfect shade of bluesy gloom. Matt Brown's fluid and ethereal soloing on this track is a worthy nod to the unique guitar style of U2's The Edge. When the song explodes into it's tight and rhythmic chorus, the strong drum cascades also recall U2 and some of the best work on "The Joshua Tree" (the climactic finale of "With Or Without You" in particular). Anna-Lynne's voice crowns the song with her vulnerable crooning, so that in the end the song is just a perfect, memorable and driving example of emotional indie rock.

"Let You Down" is among the best of the entirely acoustic based tracks, with subtle tones produced by what sounds like an accordion, murky pianos, and other assorted guitar effects. Her breathy alto is riddled with striking `pinches' of painful regret, culminating in a thoroughly enchanting and moving vocal delivery. A swampy tribute to their heroes U2 is solidified with the band's stark interpretation of "Love Is Blindness." By far the album's darkest track, it is fraught with a tense, dreary claustrophobia that will surely appeal to fans of female fronted acts like Mira, The Sundays, and the like. "Flicker" lightens the tone somewhat, by offering more tight but simpler drumming. Nice layers of guitar, and Anna-Lynne seems to let go a little more on this track, revealing more of the softer, higher tones that her voice is capable of reaching.

"Just Like This" also stands out, showing the band doesn't lose creative momentum toward the end of the CD. Reverberated drums and subdued electronics create a stark backdrop for some of Anna-Lynne's most expressive vocal melodies this time around. The accents of guitars are dejected, haunting, and beautifully bleak, providing suitable accompaniment and fleshing things out to result in a fine, fine track.

The album concludes with a massive untitled conclusion, that sounds as if it is three songs rolled up into one cohesive whole. The first third is a lighter ballad that builds to an atmospheric interlude created by washes of harmonizing guitar effects. Transcendent and dreamlike, this wistful interval gives way to the somber, minimalism of a wounded girl and her guitar for the hidden track "What Could I Say." Anna-Lynne's final performance is commanding and highly expressive, as she seems to confess in defeat "I told you everything I knew/I tore my pockets out and I gave them all to you/you hold my throat like a violin/I never want to be held again...'cause there's nobody like you."

The final few moments of "Different Stars" takes the air right out of the discerning listener's lungs. When you finally catch your breath and the chills recede, a feeling of profound satisfaction washes over you and you feel grateful for having experienced this album.

*

Anybody who is a fan of Mazzy Star (or now, Hope Sandoval gone solo), or Innocence mission, or Low would love this album. Swooning melodies and beautiful, etherial vocals drawn out in long echos make up the bulk of this album, of which I just can't say enough good things about.

If ever there was a mythical creature forever captured in the throes of deeply mournful loss and yearning and had an enchanted voice with which to lure in unsuspecting susceptibles to her eternal heartache - Anna-Lynne would be it's embodiment. I haven't the adjectives to describe something so beautiful yet so wrenching. Something so worthy of adoration.

If you're new to TW I recommend this be your introduction. No matter your preferred genre I can't fathom the possibility that anyone could be exposed to this music and not be profounding and permenantly altered.

100% bliss on a laser disk. -Frank

Dreamy and soothing, Trespassers William captures the feeling of being lost and soulful on a lonely night. I fell in love with the song "Untitled" after hearing it on a community music site, then had to buy the CD on the assumption that the whole thing was equally gratifying. I wasn't disappointed! These lullabies are about being detached from love and warmth and craving it:

It is too late to feel like a numb skin
Say that you've harpooned me, am I a prize then
I am lost as the sea, you tell me what I see
Love was supposed to save me

With its twangy guitar and soft, clear feminine vocals, this music will appeal to fans of Mazzy Star.

I have been a fan of Trespassers William since their first album, Anchor, but if you've never heard them before i HIGHLY recommend Different Stars. This an album you can drown yourself in. It depicts the absolute sadness of being alone and yet the beauty in that sadness and the beauty in being alone. You can feel the pain of disappointment and of being hurt, and yet you lose that in great melancholic melodies of Matt's guitar. A truly amazing album. Anna-Lynne's voice is the perfect compliment to the genius of her writing.

My favorites include:
+Lie In The Sound - "...and if you would just lean into me would you go..." it's sung a little offbeat, making you hear the desperation and the hope, but knowing it's going to hurt when the answer is received.
+Love Is Blindness - I think it's better than the original. +Love You More - the line "...I'll stay awake all night and blow your darker thoughts far from you; don't say i don't love you more..." captures the essence of the song perfectly.

This album is truly a gem.

This is one the best albums I've heard in a long time!
I feel ashamed I am just now discovering it - I was in a bookstore awhile back and they were playing some soundtrack with "Lie in the Sound" being the final song. I was walking through and almost started to cry while listening to it.
The lead singer's voice is simply amazing - the music is sweeping and grand, lush and subtle all at the same time.
Stand out tracks for me are: Lie in the Sound, Different Stars, Alone, Vapor Trail, & In a Song

The album perfectly captures melancholic and ethereal feelings. The entire album spreads into what feels like a float through the constellations. In "Alone" Anne-Lynne Williams describes the solitary person who yearns for love but one which is out of reach because there is something missing in the relationship between two people. It becomes a hot and cold relationship, when physical intimacy lacks warmth, and loneliness ironically, seems more desirable and becomes the more preferred state, hence 'alone, doesn't feel so cold'.

This is just one of all the brilliantly written songs, the poetry of Anne-Lynne Williams, coupled with the dreamy ethereal quality of the guitars and rhythm, aptly identifies the mood of the sleepless. In the homogeneised conditions of urban life, the album is a remedy for the hearts seeking, possibly pursuing, the idea of modern romance which is far fetched yet wanted. An opiate for insomniacs, Trespassers William matches cloudy overcast days and quiet nights.

A must-have for all despairing hearts, that are in the pursuits of modern romance.

This is definite mood music, but if you're in the right mood there's no beating this album. It's desolate, melancholy, flowing, and soft. The music is beautiful and the lyrics are heartfelt. You can download a couple full songs and clips from their homepage, and if you like that you'll like this. I recommend it to you if you ever get inconsolably sad and lonely and want music that won't take you out of the mood.

DIFFERENT STARS IS SHEER PERFECTION! ANCHOR, the bands first album, was such an amazing cd and I was utterly blown away when I got my first listen at this new cd, DIFFERENT STARS. The album is full of rich, ethereal, raw feelings that are moved along gently by lead singer Anna Lynne Williams longing vocals. Listening to Anna Lynne sing is like listening to a living, breathing angel.This cd is easily the best cd I have purchased in the last 2 years. I wish I could pick a favorite song but all of the songs are powerful and beautiful in there own way. The songs I gravitate more towards because of personal influence would have to be DIFFERENT STARS, LIE IN THE SOUND, JUST LIKE THIS, LET YOU DOWN, LOVE YOU MORE and of course, the mezmerizing finale to the album which is simply listed as Untitled. I can say that fans of Sarah Mclachlan, Azure Ray, Mazzy Star and any other female vocalist/alternative musician will absolutly relish this cd. The songs mainly stick to a mellow, relaxed mood and the lyrics sung by Anna Lynne are tinged with such sadness and longing that you almost feel like you know her personally, or that you have experienced the same kind of things her haunting voice is singing about. For me, this cd isn't merely a listening experience, it's a moving, life experience that is true ear candy for any lover of beautiful music. BUY THIS CD! you won't regret it! I wish I was better with words so I could fully explain what moving and unique music this is...There are really no words to describe the richness and beauty that is Different Stars...