Five Ghosts

Stars | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 21, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vagrant Records
• ASIN: B003KNDL4G
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,501 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2010 release, the fifth album from the Canadian Alt-Rock outfit. Ten years after singer-lyricist Torquil Campbell and keyboardist Chris Seligman conceived of Stars in a decrepit New York apartment, one can listen back through the band's discography and hear dozens of songs that find new ways to contemplate the ancient, ageless subjects of love and death. To that end, The Five Ghosts, would seem to be business as usual. Indeed, a scan of its song titles ('Dead Hearts,' 'I Died So I Could Haunt You', 'The Last Song Ever Written') would suggest as much. And yes, the band whose previous album, 2007's In Our Bedroom After the War, imagined romance in the shadow of the threat of apocalypse, are as fascinated as ever by the potential of the ruinous love song. But The Five Ghosts is different from previous Stars albums. Simpler, sparer, and more confident (in its own quiet way), it also trades some of the band's previous dramatic flourish for the sort of direct, heart-bearing communication that comes from hard-won experience. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stars - The Five Ghosts, June 22, 2010

By 

Andrew Vice (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Ghosts (Audio CD)

When it comes to crafting melodramatic, cinematic pop music, Stars are in a league of their own. Though they may not have recaptured the jubilation of their career high point, Set Yourself On Fire, Stars have put together another very nice album that fits snuggly into the overarching theme of Stars music. If you've been paying attention, you'll have noticed that Stars started as a synth-heavy pop band and slowly transformed into a symphonic pop rock band, but recently they've been returning back to that first sound, as heard on their excellent Sad Robots EP, which was awash with synthesizer and distorted-beyond-recognition guitars. The Five Ghosts has continued the trend, leaving behind some of Stars signature orchestration in favor of the sound of their early-career works. However, unlike the early career in which Torquil was the primary singer, this album stands as a showcase for the incredible vocal talents of Amy Millan, who I personally think is the best female vocalist in popular music. She lives and breathes the heartbroken vocal melodies heard throughout the record, and Torq takes a backseat, providing ample vocal support but leading only a few of the eleven tracks. This is an album for Stars fans, not one designed to bring as many new ones into the fold. Not their strongest effort and sadly likely to be ignored in a year full of stellar releases, the Five Ghosts is nonetheless a record worth listening to, owning, and cherishing as part of the excellent Stars canon.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stars shining, June 30, 2010

By 

Ged - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Ghosts (Audio CD)

Stars is probably one of the most underappreciated bands of the decade. They have produced such great albums as 'Set Yourself On Fire' or 'Heart' which have been aclaimmed by the critics, however, the audience is relatively very small these days. And I feel sorry for that because this album also proves that Stars need more fame and applause then they get.

I would begin with that this album mostly reminds me of the album 'Heart'. Which is great, in my opinion. The band stays on track and keep themselves what they really are. I would say that any of the Stars fan should not be disappointed by buying this.

However, at the first few listens the record seemed to be a little bit boring and songs alike each other. Yet I did not give up and now after listening to 'Five Ghosts' like ten times I enjoy it a lot and this album would go into my TOP album list of the year.

Anyone who is new to Stars could start with this album, because it is a little bit more pop than others and quite easily approached compared to other albums.

I might agree that this album ain't perfect, however, yet it is my soundtrack of the summer days. I believe it could be yours too. Buy it!

Key tracks:
- Dead Hearts
- Wasted Daylight
- Changes
- The Passenger
- Winter Bones

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunted by Five Ghosts, July 5, 2010

By 

Victor Calderin (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Ghosts (Audio CD)

While not an evolutionary jump from their previous work, Five Ghosts does a nice job of combining simple melodies and arrangements with direct lyrical composition to create another solid album. And, as solid for Stars means "Gold", this album does not disappoint.