Tastemakers Magazine unveils it’s lineup for the fall 2010 edition of Tastemakers Presents, Saturday, October 2nd.

Every day this week we’ll pick up to 5 letters submitted to us and update you, letter by letter, with photos posted on our twitter – twitter.com/tastemakersmag.

Basic Rules:

-Your tweet must:

• be in repsonse to @tastemakersmag
• include the hashtag #tmPresents!

-Every time we update the letter board, the letter with the most votes will either be posted on the board or crossed out to signify its incorrect guess.

Have fun and stay tasty!

]]> http://tastemakersmag.com/features/2010/tastemakers-presents/feed/ 1 http://tastemakersmag.com/features/2010/rock-band-hijacks-small-town/ http://tastemakersmag.com/features/2010/rock-band-hijacks-small-town/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:23:08 +0000 Katie Price http://tastemakersmag.com/?p=1401

Six Thousand people flocked to North Adams, Massachusetts Friday, August 13th, for the Solid Sound Music and Arts Festival. The three day, Wilco-curated event at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) promised a weekend of music, arts, comedy, film and interactivity. Most go to these events with the music first in their mind, but we realized once we arrived that the artists and the venue provided so much more. Wilco’s music is the kind that really challenges the limits of genre titles. It was only natural that the other performers reflect the same diversity.

Throughout the weekend, the musical acts included everything from pop, jazz, and rock to electronica and country. This amount of variety would be no surprise at Bonnaroo, but to achieve it with barely 20 performers on the bill is an impressive task. Almost all of these acts were well beneath our radar which allowed the whole festival to be one of exploration. I thoroughly enjoyed every act but a few bands stuck out that I plan to keep up with.

The first was hometown heroes, The Books. The folktronica group appeared as a trio on Friday night but it would be fair to say they had a fourth band member in the form of the videos projected behind them. Their music is made up of tracks, mostly speech and vocal manipulations, off of cassettes that they purchase in thrift stores used to provide a unique sound that accompanies their soft compositions and unusual visuals.

Also great was three-piece Avi Buffalo. The indie rock group from Long Beach, CA, is on the rise after the release of their self-titled debut in April. The single “What’s It In For” has been described as Shins-like, but lead singer Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg’s vocals harken back to the nasally sound of MGMT. The various side projects of Wilco band members performed at the festival as well, all of which were excellent. My personal favorite was The Autumn Defense featuring John Stiratt and Pat Sansone. I was not prepared for how enjoyable they could make country sound.

Warming up the freshly christened Joe’s Field was gospel singer Mavis Staples. Formerly of the famed Staples Singers, she is currently working with Jeff Tweedy to release a new album called “You Are Not Alone”, which Tweedy is producing, as well as performing on some tracks. She played a varied set, from her well-known hit “I’ll Take You There” to R&B standard “The Weight”, all the while thanking the audience and joking about working with Tweedy.

After a short stage change, Wilco’s set began promptly with “Wilco (The Song)” as a fitting introduction. There were many memorable moments, such as a train passing behind the field. The noise fit well with their sound and Tweedy was quick to take credit for arranging it. The band performed a sing-along version of “Jesus, etc.” and then said next year maybe they’ll post a list of songs to practice. So there will be a next year, Jeff? They played a solid two and a half hours of material from each album, which is a somewhat conservative set for how long they have been playing on their most recent tour. Perhaps they were being considerate of everything else people had experienced through out the day in addition to the music.

Other experiences included a side splitting cast of comedians lead by Todd Barry, a circus performance from Bread and Puppet, and all the art Mass MoCA could hold, including exhibits by Sol LeWitt, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Petah Coyne and even Leonard Nemoy. Sol LeWitt’s installation consisted of rooms upon rooms of large-scale wall drawings ranging from penciled outlines of bark to full-color paintings. The maze of paintings was stimulating by itself, but was enhanced by
sharing its space with an installation called “Interactive Drumheads”, created by Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche. This installation invited people to play drums modified with springs, sandpaper, Velcro, and more. The drumheads, attached to miniature amps, filled the exhibit with a sort of chaotic noise of exploration that contradicted the smooth, flowing lines and colors of LeWitt’s vision.

Guitarist Nels Cline’s “Solid Sound Stompbox Station” was cacophony incarnate as participants sat on the ground manipulating daisy-chained effects pedals. In the case of both exhibits, creating the sounds was fun but the best part was stepping back and experiencing the sound scape created by your fellow festival goers. The noises and the setting made you feel like you were in a horror movie walking toward your peril. I can’t wait to see what next year brings.

Equally amazing as the performances was the choice of venue. Throughout the weekend the twitter hashtag #solidsound contained plenty of shout-outs thanking @Mass_MoCA for hosting the festival. Most pleasing were the comforts usually given up at these types of festivals. Comforts such as clean, indoor restrooms and good beer at a reasonable price. The town of North Adams was equally appreciative as signs outside restaurants welcomed Wilco and their fans. I was glad to be able to contribute to the town’s economy, but I’m not sure how prepared they were for us considering it took 40 minutes to get a bagel on Sunday morning. Don’t get me wrong, downtown North Adams had a lot to offer and I’m sure the restaurants’ staffs will be more prepared come next year.

Sunday was by far the most laid-back day of the festival. It began with Yoga, moved into the Wilco-curated film series, and threats of rain chased most of the acts into the Hunter Center, an indoor, seated theater. Jeff Tweedy’s “Solo Plus” set closed out the festival before the end of the day. We were all unsure of what was meant by Solo Plus, but assumed he would be joined by guests. We were correct, as Sir Richard Bishop, Nick Zammuto of The Books, Avi Buffalo and a few others joined him toward the end of his set. He played a 25-song set of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo material, some tracks from his solo project, and ended the set with a few covers as it began to rain, signaling the end of a truly magical weekend.

Hey everyone,

This morning I write to you about the past, present and future of Tastemakers Music Magazine.  When the publication was launched in 2006, it was with one ultimate vision. We want to bridge the gap between artist and fan, bringing music to others in new and interesting ways with passion and heart.  While providing a place for future industry players to build and thrive, we push the boundaries of a college magazine.  Tastemakers has always been, and still is, constantly working for the next big thing.

Just this summer, Tastemakers has been able to cover SXSW, Coachella, Soundset, Bonnaroo, Camp Bisco, Nateva, Lollapalooza, Solid Sound, Newport Folk Festival and KahBang.  At each festival we have been able to make connections with publicists, producers, artists and even festival founders.  Our writers have interviewed artists from Lifehouse to OK Go, filmed takeaway shows and produced countless podcasts.  With all of this experience and coverage, we are prepared for even bigger and better things.

This month, we are in a pool of proposals to be selected from to present a panel at South by Southwest.  This is a prestigious and groundbreaking opportunity.  As college students, we are in one of the most powerful positions in the industry.  In a recent letter from Bob Lefsetz, he went on to even say that we are “where the revolution is happening… (We’re) turning the tide.”  Tastemakers wants to take this revolution to SXSW and represent our generation.  To represent the college students, we need your support.  If you would like to help us to get to Austin, please visit here to sign in and vote.

No matter if we get to SXSW, Tastemakers has much in store for fall.  New writers have been getting in touch and preparing for Welcome Week on the daily, ready to hit the ground running.  We will be reorganizing the content team to better suit the growing interest and accommodate the influx in writing.  With this, we hope to nearly triple to amount of content that is featured on our website each week while spanning more genres and topics.  If you’re interested in joining the writing team, please don’t hesitate to contact me at tastemakerschief@gmail.com.

Beyond our growth in content, the Tastemakers Presents… show is almost entirely set up (Look for an announcement during Welcome Week!) and our Marketing team is hard at work scheming about swag and promotions.  The Art and Design team is also gearing up for an exciting fall, with a new Art Director, the beautiful Miss Anne Latini, and a new Photo Captain, the stunning Chrissy Bulakites.

Please stay tuned for more updates and mark your calendars for our first general meeting on September 8^th!

Hope to see you all in the fall!

Muah,

Katie Price
Editor in Chief
Tastemakers Magazine

Former Short Round Sound guest Dave Davison of Cast Spells performs “Potted Plant,” on the streets of Cambridge before his show with Maps & Atlases.

Cast Spells on the streets of Cambridge from TastemakersMag on Vimeo.

David Wax of Dave Wax Museum shares a moment backstage with Scott Avett of the Avett Brothers. The two bands have toured together in the past.

This beauty tagged along with Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three. Everyone in their crew looked as if they stepped out of a time machine.

Alexander of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros hung out in the grass before the band's breathtaking set.

]]> http://tastemakersmag.com/features/2010/newport-folk-festival-portraits/feed/ 0 http://tastemakersmag.com/features/2010/kay-kay-and-his-weathered-underground/ http://tastemakersmag.com/features/2010/kay-kay-and-his-weathered-underground/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:58:24 +0000 Katie Price http://tastemakersmag.com/?p=957

A few days ago, I bought my first Vinyl record ever. I bought it for my Dad for his birthday. The album was Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground’s self-titled release.

When I first heard about the band a couple of years ago, I was quite annoyed that their album wasn’t available in a CD format. It’s unusual for me to decide to pay for music, and if I do, I want something solid in my hands to show for it.  At the time, I didn’t understand why it was important to be released first on vinyl (it did later come out on CD, long after I’d given in and paid for the mp3s.)  I don’t own a record player, and to me vinyl seemed outdated and inconvenient.

Fast-forward to June 2010, curled up on one of the amazing cloud couches in my friend Anna’s living room, listening to the dreamy, swirling, psychedelic sounds coming from this old wooden box, watching the sky-blue record spin. I then understood why the record needed to be heard like that. The inspiration behind Anna’s purchase had occurred a week earlier, when she joined me as a photographer to meet up with Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground for a pre-show interview.

A few minutes past 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night in June, and I was standing a few feet away from the entrance to TT Bear’s place, a tiny venue in Central Square in Cambridge.  TT the Bear’s is a venue that is often forgotten about, possibly due to the fact that it’s located directly behind The Middle East, which is a much bigger and better-known music club. Shows at TT’s are rarely over-packed, which is nice because there isn’t the problem of craning your neck trying to see past the tallest guy in the room (who happens to be standing directly in front of you) to get a glimpse of the stage.

Aside from myself and Anna, there were a few other people standing around, smoking cigarettes and looking bored. None of these people were members of Kay Kay, and I was about to take out my phone when Anna pointed out a van parked right outside the venue. We could see that there were people in it, but their faces were hard to make out in the distance. Right at that minute, the back door opened, and a guy who looked in his mid-20s walked out, followed by a trail of smoke. He introduced himself as Kyle, and moments later his other band members followed, leading us through the now-empty stage area to the back room.

After we settled down, sitting in a circle of chairs, one of which the recorder sat on, I asked about the meaning behind their debut, Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground. Singer Kirk Huffman explained that the album was centralized around “a male character in his early 20s going paranoid-schizophrenic”. He mentioned that although there wasn’t a specific storyline, there were “thoughts and reoccurring themes throughout the entire record”.

Kyle O’Quin, the keyboardist in the band, added that some of the inspiration for the record came from a documentary called ‘Into the Realms of the Unreal’ (which the title of the first song of the album is based upon.)

“It was this crazy guy who created this entire world inside his head, and nobody even found out until after he was dead.” He described some of the items found in the house of the man, named Henry Darger, after his death, which included hundreds of paintings and thousand-pages-long books that he wrote, detailing wars that never happened. Kirk then explained this idea which relates to the band’s name: “Kay Kay’s the character, and his ‘weathered underground’ was this place he goes to, in his mind, and escapes through music.”

When I asked about musical influences in Kay Kay’s debut album, Kirk cited The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper and The Kinks’ later records as their main inspirations, particularly some of Kinks frontman Ray Davies’ lyrics. Kyle also mentioned Ray Charles as an inspiration for the track ‘Swan Ink’. “For the new record, I feel there’s been like, five times as many influences,” Kirk acknowledged.

Keep in mind that at that point I was unaware of the listening experience that a record player brings, so I was really curious to know, why was this album first released only on vinyl and as a digital download?

Kirk told us that it hadn’t made sense to them to put something out that, “at [that] point in time, [was] kind of a disposable format”. They eventually decided to release CDs because a lot of people wanted them. He added that they don’t “hate cds”, and that they actually have a Sony Discman in their van. Kyle explained his feeling that, considering the price, CDs are “a cop out on artwork and the sound quality isn’t as good.”

Anna is pretty sold on the pro-vinyl idea, and asked if they were selling any records (they were, and she bought one later after the show). I was interested to know if they were going to do the same thing for a new record coming out. Kirk said they would be releasing it on vinyl and digital download first, and then on CD a while after.

Speaking of the new record, I wanted to know if there was an official release date yet, but there wasn’t. Knowing that the record was streaming on MySpace at least a year ago, I couldn’t help but ask “Why?!”

My question was met with laughter. “That’s the best question you’ve asked so far,” drummer Aaron Benson joked. “And the only one we don’t have a good answer to,” Kyle added.

I had a few more questions, and asked what they’ve been listening to. They surprise me with the reply that they’ve been listening to mostly reggae and first generation Wu Tang Klan. For my last question, I asked if they think there’s anything especially lacking in today’s music scene.

“Where’s the money?” a voice called out, met by a chorus of “yes”. Kyle added that “weed is currently lacking our music scene,” which was also met with agreement.

“None of us really listen to any new music, other than people who are doing throwback stuff, or stuff influenced by older stuff,” Kirk admitted. “Because it’s really easy to be a band, and get your music heard (online), for me, I’m over stimulated. It’s just too much to keep up with.”

“The problem,” Kyle pointed out, “is everything has already been done… now every kind of genre is just being regurgitated.”

In between bites of hummus-less pita, waiting for their complementary lunch at the Middle East Restaurant, the three members of Good Old War welcome conversation from their three Tastemakers counterparts. Singer Keith Goodwin picks my brain about World Cup happenings. Guitarist Dan Schwartz shows our photographer, Chrissy, a photo of cupcakes a fan recently made them, featuring the artwork from their new album as frosting. Drummer Tim Arnold questions if he truly looks like Russell Brand – Madi, who held my Flip cam with expertise, wholeheartedly sees the similarity. As their meals arrive, the band reflects on their first headlining tour.

TM: What were some of your favorite moments from this tour?

Tim: We all went camping in Wyoming.

Dan: We had the day off and it was amazing. We’ve never had the experience where every single person on the tour was friends like that, and we stayed up all night just singing songs and drinking. It was just pure friendship. This whole tour was like summer camp.

TM: What are your plans for the rest of the summer?

Tim: Tour tour tour tour tour tour tour.

Dan: Oh yeah, and then we tour.

Tim: After tour we tour. Then after those tours we tour.

Dan: There’s a bunch of stuff we’re excited about.

The day after this interview, it was officially announced that Good Old War will be heading out on tour supporting Brandi Carlile at the end of July. Then a run with supporting Xavier Rudd Aug 25 – Sep 14, ending again in Boston, this time at the Wilbur Theatre.

Tim: One thing I’m super excited about is the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Taj Mahal’s playing. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is playing. It’s on this farm in the suburbs of Philly and there’s camping. All the campsites have these beautiful canopies and everyone gathers around in a circle and just write songs and jam. It’s so much fun.

TM: Speaking of camping festivals, the editor-in-chief and I are going up to Maine this weekend for Nateva. What is in the Good Old War camping survival guide?

Tim: Here’s what I would bring to a camping trip – festival camping right? This is not in the middle of the woods?

TM: Correct. We’d never go somewhere without our phones, we have a reputation to keep up.

Tim: Haha, alright: Sunglasses…

Dan: That’s the first thing?

Tim: In no particular order! I say a case of beer, sunglasses, maybe a tent – you only need kind of just a shade – Sleeping bag.

Dan: Someway to still be able to watch internet porn.

Tim: Yeah, a nice WiFi signal is the key to camping.

Laughter…Keith returns to the table and his meal

TM: What about you Keith?

Keith: ummm…Shotgun.

TM: What state is this in?

Keith: For the bears!

Tim: This is for camping festivals…

TM: So for Grizzly Bear…Barry White…

Dan: You definitely need a guitar.

Tim: Yeah, you need a seat for outside, like a lawn chair, and your guitar.

The conversation then turns to new or upcoming releases from bands such as Dr. Dog and Arcade Fire. Eventually we find ourselves discussing MGMT’s polarizing sophomore album.

Dan: (The criticism) is so unfair because those new songs are amazing. I feel like sometimes people just don’t give bands a chance to grow.

TM: It’s funny you bring that up. Recently on The Short Round Sound I discussed the idea of a veil being taken away between a band and their audience between their first and second records. Did you guys face any pressure from expectations of those anticipating your new album?

Dan: I guess. Sort of. When people got a chance to actually hear the whole record, all that initial nervousness went away. We never had any nervousness about it, we were so excited about the record from the beginning. I think no matter what, your second record has a phase where some people may say ‘this stinks.’

Tim: It’s funny because, the way we got started was just the mentality of ‘alright, we gotta play a show.’

Dan: We didn’t even have a band, a name, or anything. We didn’t have any time to figure it out. We toured before we even knew what we were going to name ourselves.

TM: Do you think you guys have a different approach, focusing on what you bring to the table in your live performances?

Tim: Yeah, we’d like to be able to play every song live and make it sound as close to how it sounds on the record as possible.

Good Old War’s live show has played a large part in somewhat of a growing mystique. Most notably, they were recently praised in the widely-followed industry commentary of Bob Lefsetz on his blog, The Lefsetz Letter.

The tickets were ten bucks.  T-shirts fifteen.  Price wasn’t keeping anybody away, it was like going to a movie.

But for so many damn shows, you’ve got to give the tickets away.

But these people wanted to come, they needed to come.

The night was invigorating, it put a smile on my face.  This is the future.  The doom and gloom of the major labels and Live Nation?  There’s no pulse there, it’s not about music, but money.

And no one wants to hear Bon Jovi’s new material.  They’re going for nostalgia’s sake.

But Good Old War played no covers.  They existed in their own bubble.

How did everybody know?

Cathy (owner of GOW’s label) tried to explain it to me, but really, if something’s good today you can find it.  That’s the power of the Internet and cell phones and texting and social networking.

People are looking for good, they want to rally around quality.

They found Good Old War.

TM: You guys are now ‘this band that goes into the crowd and sings without amps.’ What is this new idea? What’s this revolution that’s happening? You guys aren’t going to be rolling around on your fans in inflatable balloons anytime soon are you?

Keith: I think we’re doing the opposite.

Dan: It’s funny that you call it a ‘mystique’ because by (joining our fans on the floor) we have lifted the veil. We want to be (thought of) as actual human beings as possible. We don’t want people to think of us as – I don’t know..- different. We want to people to know that we’re a band that works hard and practices hard, that anybody can do their thing. Anybody can do what they love if they just work really, really hard.

Keith: All I want is to give people music and have them enjoy it. All I care about, the message I’m trying to send is ‘Good Tunes.’ The whole acoustic thing, going out in the crowd, we can have just an acoustic guitar and vocals and still have a good song. The whole goal is to have a good song.

Tim: We want our fans to not see us on the stage and put us on a pedestal. They can sing the songs with us being right there with them.

Dan: We decided to bring our show (to the floor) because it just doesn’t feel right to have a barrier between you and your fans.

Our waiter visits the table, commenting on the drink choices on the table.

‘That’s a good band. You’ve got one guy drinking Budweiser and the other drinking coffee. You’ve got business and rock’n’roll.’

Dan: That’s funny, Keith’s nickname for me was ‘Business’ for a while.

The band eventually finished their lunch, and went straight to business, sharing the stage with their tourmates across all three sets of the last stop of their shared journey. The blending  of Good Old War’s energy and harmonies with the vintage rock of Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde, the deep and soulful singing of LA songstress Audra Mae seemed a combo rehearsed over a period of years, not weeks. As Chrissy shot a group photo in the post-matinee afternoon sunlight, the bands shouted “Best. Tour. EVER!” repeatedly for each snap of the lens. This tour wasn’t about Audra Mae, Yukon Blonde, or Good Old War. It was about you, the person who bought a ticket to see a band you’d never listened to. It was about you, the fan at the front of the stage, singing louder than anyone else in the room. It was about a bunch of otherwise strangers, loving music and loving each other. It was about coming away with a feeling like you were part of something bigger than just yourself.

When we first arrived to Nateva, we meandered our way to the back of the festival camping on a grassy knoll that had huge block letters standing at the top of it- NATEVA. It was the perfect spot, save for a few rocks. The sunset filled the empty hill with beautiful light as Passion Pit’s incredibly high-pitched vocals and synths rounded out the experience. After setting up camp and loading up to enter the festival, we were instructed that our “shit” would be removed if we left it there. The lone rude security guard scampered off in his golf cart as the head of security and two lovely policewomen on horseback came to break us the bad news in a more reasonable manner. Turned out the area was a protected wetland that had been cleared earlier.  Whoops!

Rico then picked up the tent and carried it over his head.

Just kidding… us along with ten others cars were lined up and caravanned over to the “Family Camping Zone.” We pulled up worrying about what the children and parents would think of the potent weed smell emanating from the station wagon in front of us, but those fears quickly melted away when we saw the luxurious grass and marked out empty spots they had graciously cleared away for us.

Rico then set down the tent and we unpacked once more.

After Ghostland Observatory played a blaring set with pure sawtooth synth, moe. took the stage under the stars. Playing with full force, intense light show, the band did not disappoint.

We settled in early for a full day ahead of us.

Stay tuned for coverage on The Flaming Lips, She & Him, Grizzly Bear, Crash Kings, STS9 and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad!  There just might be some streaming video coming your way.  Follow us LIVE here.

Star –

a : a natural luminous body visible in the sky especially at night b : a self-luminous gaseous spheroidal celestial body of great mass which produces energy by means of nuclear fusion reactions

…

a : the principal member of a theatrical or operatic company who usually plays the chief roles b : a highly publicized theatrical or motion-picture performer c : an outstandingly talented performer <a track star> d : a person who is preeminent in a particular field

Merriam-Webster, I’mma let you finish, but Stars is one of the best Canadian indie bands of all time. Of all time.

You might have heard their songs placed on such television shows as Sex in the City, The OC and Law & Order. Maybe you’ve seen them open for Coldplay. You might be familiar with their members’ contributions in Broken Social Scene. You might know a lot more about the project started by keyboardist Chris Seligman and singer Torquil Campbell than what appears on their Wikipedia page. I want you to know one thing: you need to listen to their new album, The Five Ghosts.

The band’s ten year career spans several EPs, three award winning and critically acclaimed full lengths, interruptions by solo efforts from vocalist Amy Milan and collaborating in another Canadian super group, and miles and miles of global touring. Seligman tells Tastemakers that for the band, it feels like they’re just beginning.

How’s the summer tour going?

Great! It’s been really fun. We’re playing the new record in it’s entirety for the first half of the show then we come on a little bit later and play songs that the fans voted on through the internet. It’s been really fun. It feels like people are really enjoying the new record for hearing it the first time. It’s been an interesting way of doing things. I think the new record is great, a lot of (the crowd’s reactions) depends on how we play every night. I think if we perform well then there’s good energy, a new energy. It feels really fun to play every night to a good crowd.

What songs do you enjoy playing the most?

It’s funny because we were talking about it after the show last night, how we’ve been playing in a band for ten years and you’re always trying to find new ways to get better. We’re kind of evolving as a band right now. We’re trying to find excitement in a lot of old songs. Finding a new relationship with them has given us, as a band, new life in a way.  I guess that’s not really answering your question specifically, but it feels exciting to be up there again to be playing the music together. In the past when you’ve been on the road for a while, you get into a headspace where you’re not in the moment all the time.

How did the band come to have such a dramatic performance style that creates such an intimacy with your audiences?

It’s a tough question because you don’t think about it too much – you just get out there (on stage).  I think we’re all perfectionists. I feel like we’ve finally got to the point where we’re all working as hard. Everyone’s putting in 100%. The music is the most important thing in our lives right now – being a band. We’re all trying to find new ways to evolve and to trust each other on stage. Surprisingly enough, that doesn’t always happen. It feels good to love each other on stage and to listen to each other on stage really culminates in the music coming together. That reflects on the audience and the audience gets a better show. That’s a process and you’re always trying to find new ways to achieve that.

My love affair with Stars is not a steamy, rollercoaster ride like you’d find on Grey’s Anatomy. It’s more comparable to Jim and Pam’s constantly glowing ember that seems to get hotter as time goes by. I took in their previous releases like a desert sampler, relishing the rich textures and flavors one song at a time. From the smoldering “One More Night” to the ebb and flow of “What the Snowman Learned About Love” I took the songs in as deep breaths that filled my blood with the thoughtful, dramatic, and emotional style that has come to be a trademark of the Stars’.

For the first time, my initial reception to a Stars’ album lasted from end to end, resisting the temptations to repeat “Wasted Daylight” and singalong, to dance by myself to “We Don’t Want Your Body.” As the closing track “Winter Bones” hummed to finish, I found myself comparing the album to last years’ Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix or the previous summer’s Saturdays = Youth by M83. When I think of the summer of 2008, I think “Kim and Jessie” casting a dreampop colored haze over the LA skyline. The summer of 2009 was the crescendos of “Rome” playing a soundtrack to the July 4^th fireworks as they reflected off the Charles. All three albums are by foreign artists, healthily synth driven and can be placed under the umbrella that is indie pop (until being placed in car ads of course). The Five Ghosts will remind me of the travels of the editor-in-chief and myself, covering countless concerts and festivals, interviewing all of today’s next big thing, and struggling to keep this review from reaching a word count worthy of a hard cover.

Putting my metaphors and comparisons aside for now, Chris explains to us what went into the making of the album.

What was the songwriting process like this time around?

We were in Vancouver at the time of the first writing session and we were just trying to figure out how to approach the new record. I kind of had a tough night sleeping the first night I was in Vancouver. I kind of had a haunting experience in my room. I basically felt like I had been visited by a ghost. I freaked out a bit. I left my apartment at six in the morning and wandered the streets until noon when the band was meeting. We got to the space and people asked me what was wrong and I told them what happened. It kind of set the tone for the whole record I guess. Over the next couple days we wrote, I think the songs kind of reflected the experience I had and the headspace that we were all in. That was kind of a starting point for the record, and it obviously went other places, but that was a weird beginning point for it. The record was written in chunks. We’d get together for three weeks, we’d record four or five songs, then we’d separate for a month or two, then we’d write again. It was disjointed but in a way it made it so the record (was something) you could take the time to reflect on and dissect each song.

Was there a sense of a reunion each time you all got back together?

What I liked about it, each time we got back together, we’d be in a different head space because it’s where a lot of the songwriting comes from – as opposed to just writing all at one point in your life. If you can write at different points in your life, the songwriting can be more interesting because you start at different (points of view) along the way. There was a death in the family of one of the members which happened later on in the sessions, so that was a really intense experience for everyone. After that we got together and wrote a bunch of songs and those songs (represented) the process of a loved one dying.

What would you say each member brings to the table individually?

There are five of us and generally we all allow each other to bring something to the table. We all have our roles and for me, I’m the keyboardist. I’m writing the initial music with Evan (bassist). We’ll come up with the song structure: the verse, the chorus, the chords. We build instrumentally, we write the music first then Torq and Amy come in. It’s funny sometimes we’ll say ‘that sounds more like an Amy track’ or ‘that sounds like a Torq track’ and we’ll allocate which track goes to whom. They’ll come in and write lyrics and song melodies. When we had that form, we sent it off to a producer who then listened to an initial skeleton, which we’ve never done before, but I think that’s made this record more unique in a way for us. The producer, Tom McFall (who also worked with the band on Set Yourself on Fire), got to listen to the songs so early on that he could then have opinions about them and change certain ideas and add some musical sections. It’s great to have another perspective on it because you’re already so deeply involved in the process yourself. When you have someone else pushing you, you can make the songwriting that much more interesting.

In effort to be as un-Kanye-like as possible, I’d like to make good on an earlier promise and let Merriam-Webster finish:

a (1) : a planet or a configuration of the planets that is held in astrology to influence one’s destiny or fortune —usually used in plural (2) : a waxing or waning fortune or fame <her star was rising> b obsolete : destiny

With the release of The Five Ghosts it seems apparent that Stars have taken the reins of their own destiny and are on their way to rising fame and fortune.