Stars In Coma
Midnight puzzle
Kingem Records
I'm just going to go ahead and say it...Kevin Barnes. From the light touches of soul and funk, to the use of found sound, to bandleader André Brorsson's wobbly croon, the of Montreal leadman's DNA is all over Stars in Coma's fifth album, "Midnight puzzle". Not that there's anything wrong with that.
The Malmo, Sweden-based quartet creates a dazzling cloud of sound that deftly skirts baccalaurean excess -- even as synths, guitars, dulcimers, choirs and strings are piled sky-high. Ideas as well are stockpiled with a care that almost borderlines on fetishism. The album contains a career's worth of evolution all silly-stringed together -- songs seemingly traveling from point A to B via point D. Or, as is the case of opening track "And so", via point X -- its jaunty, folk pop transforming into a nu-disco jam before folding in on itself in a radio-influenced haze.
For a lesser band, this more-is-more technique might indicate hiding behind sound rather than songwriting. However, Brorsson exonerates himself nicely on the title track -- a 1970s torch song ballad featuring his expelled angst over a single piano and whistled refrain. Hard to believe this is the same guy who hit the dance floor on previous tune, the slick new wave jam "Unique emotion". But therein lies the power of Stars in Coma: over the course of "Midnight puzzle", they somehow manage to be all things to most listeners...and they do so brilliantly.
- Laura Studarus
