bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

David Watkins

Stellastarr*

Harmonies for the Haunted

(RCA)

Stellastarr* arrived with their angular, art pop 80s mix - Pixies meets The Wedding Present meets Duran Duran meets Joy Division with a splash of  Big Country thrown in - with perfect timing in 2003. They had everything  at their disposal: good looks, strong hooks and a hefty sound that packed

a punch live.

Their self-titled debut was one  of the best of the past five years,  but for some reason the band have remained a relatively obscure proposition outside the US.

Such is the price for getting there first, perhaps. Just as the Ramones were never as big as the Sex Pistols, dandies such as The Killers and  The Bravery have, perhaps, stolen  the column inches that should have been Stellastarr*'s.  Unfortunately -  or not, as the case may be - Harmonies for the Haunted will  do little to change this, despite being  a solid second album.

Although it's decidedly more downbeat than its predecessor, singer Shawn Christensen's 'Robert Smith on a soapbox' delivery is more dramatic than before, to which bassist Amanda Tannen's vocals - modelled closely  on Kim Deal, it must be said - are the perfect foil.

On Sweet Troubled Soul, which  is one of the standout tracks,  Christensen, with utmost pomp  and seriousness, declares: 'I want  to see your face in the reflection of  my bedroom stereo.'

It's not quite Teenage Kicks, but memorable nonetheless. Whereas their debut carried a quirky sense of vitality, Harmonies for the Haunted  is exactly what its title suggests - decidedly darker and world-weary.



Stellastarr*