Customer Reviews

Harmonies for the Haunted

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I know a lot of people who are not buying this album because they see the copy-protect threat on the cover and think they won't be able to rip if for their mp3 players, but it is very easy to bypass and this album is worth having. If you are using windows, make sure you disable autorun on your cdrom drive (hold down the shift key when you load your disk, or look for instructions on the web for a permanent fix through windows registry). If you fail to do this, loading the disk in your computer will automatically install scumware on your computer without your consent.

The album itself is excellent, and I think anyone who enjoyed the first album will enjoy this one as well. It's pretty rare that I enjoy an album from start to finish without skipping a few tracks, but this is one of those albums I can listen to straight through.

ALL you have to do is HOLD DOWN SHIFT key the first time you put it in your computer, this info has been in news articles and all over the internet for 2 years now and it still works(i actually learned this from the band's own forum). after the cd is in and you held down the shift key, you can use itunes or any other program to make mp3s. if you already installed the program that it came with, i recommend finding another computer to do this in.
and as for the cd, i think i like it better than their previous one, has more "oomph" somehow.

The only thing keeping me from giving them 5 stars is that I liked their first album more. That said if you liked the first one then you will enjoy this as well. Be warned, it is copy protected, you will not be able to put this in your Ipod without a great hassle.

I love this cd. I cant hear enough of it.

I DO have this on my iPod. Go to the bands message boards and Shawn himself will tell you how to get around the DRM.

First, I love the band and their music...so, Second, why not buy?...for technical reasons...THIS CD CANNOT BE USED TO MAKE MP3S OR OTHER LEGAL COPIES. It is a disgusting continuation of the industry's attempts to abrogate your rights to use the CD how you choose. Under copyright law, YOU DO HAVE THE RIGHT TO COPY YOUR CDs for your personal use!!! To get around this SonyBMG and RCA is using technology and shady legal procedures. They force you to sign an End User License Agreement (EULA) before you can use the CD in a computer. [FYI, EULAs are not considered valid contracts in many states.] Then you can copy 128kbps windows media files from the disk. BUT, I own one of the new Sony MP3 players and these windows files CANNOT be moved to Sonicstage. The files also CANNOT be used in an IPOD (it explicitly says that AFTER you sign the EULA). So, if you want this CD and want to use it on an MP3 player and make copies per your legal right, then USE AN ONLINE STORE (and buy something else at Amazon, they're nice folks)!!! Sony BMG and RCA should be ashamed and sued for going to such extremes. And frankly, the band itself should complain. While copyright laws should be respected, so should our rights under the same laws.

Honestly, owning and having listened to both stellasarr* CDs, I'd say I prefer this over the first. I know that everyone is crazy about 'My Coco' (on the first CD) but I honestly am NOT impressed by that song (which is one of my least favorites on the other CD). If you like stella's lyrics and their upbeat style, I'd say you'll enjoy this CD. "Lost in Time," "Damn this foolish heart" and "Sweet Troubled Soul" are always getting stuck in my head and I get post-it notes thrown at me by co-workers as I can't help but sing along with them. I really enjoy the entire CD and I listen to it from start to finish regularly.

Hard to believe that The Killers once OPENED for Stellastarr*. I was at that show. I find StellaStarr* to probably be the MOST underrated band of the last 3-4 years. The melodies, singing and vocals are DEAD ON! The guitar riffs are amazing. The drumming dancable. Live-they are tremendous. And really nice people too. This Album is as good if not better than the first. Sweet Troubled Soul should have been a major hit. One of the best songs I have heard in this decade. Give Lost in Time and Sweet Troubled Soul a definite listen---Stay Entertained and Stay are definite hook ladended crowd pleasers. I just dont understand how anyone can not like this band. What a tremendous album!

Somehow this band slipped through the cracks between Interpol, the Killers (this CD is much better than those), and all the other various 80's-influenced acts out there, but this is a really solid CD that gets better with each listen. You can hear the influences (Echo and the Bunnymen, the Cure, etc.), but the sound is still original and fresh. "Love and Longing" is a great tune to start with and easily holds its own with all those great 80's anthems those who grew up then know and love. But the first song, "Lost in Time," will hook you right away. "Harmonies for the Haunted" is great all the way through, and based on this CD I am going to get their debute, "My Coco."

The band is excellent and this album is just shy of the high quality of the first. However, the encroachment of our free use rights as legal consumers by the major record companies will not stop until they see a negative financial impact from pushing these copy crippled products. Don't support these products.

Criminally, this album does not seem to be commercially available in the UK, which is bizarre as we just cannot get enough of this 80s alternative sound right now, especially when it emanates from a US band. Witness the huge success of The Killers and Interpol right across Europe.

Unlike many other acts, they have managed to combine commercial melodies without falling into soft rock cliches, a la Robbie Williams. There is very little filler on the album and its melange of soaring guitars, synths and very 80s Brit Alternative vocals is great. Why they recorded in New York and LA is a mystery to me.

"On my Own" is the best thing they have ever done. Its plaintiveness reminds me of early Cocteau Twins. Just brilliant.