The Go Find — Stars on the Wall
The music is very much in line with the Morr Music label's aesthetic, meaning this is pop music with an electro bent. It has a fair sprinkling of Brian Wilson-ish harmonies, mixed with nineties shoegazer music, and (unfortunately, from my point of view) Emo vocals evocative of such contemporaries as the Postal Service. It wouldn't be fair to condemn the album simply because it resorts to what is fast becoming a requisite indie-pop vocal style, so let's take a look at the music; The bouncy pop tunes are catchy, and as a whole the album flows together well. A lot of ground is covered within the realm of pop.
Dictionary is a nice danceable bass driven track, while Ice Cold Ice (not a cover of the Husker Du tune) is a bit like label mates Notwist, with its New Order-esque melody. Monday Morning (in homage to VU's Sunday Morning?) is a cheery, yet mellow near-folk rock song, with electronic backing. Everything is Low is a subdued track with a darker tinge, as the title indicates. It ends with intertwining guitar melodies which would seem to be out of character, but actually sounds great.
The last track, Kid Ok is obviously a nod to Radiohead's Kid A, but like the rest of the album, sounds nothing like them. It starts off with two minutes of near silence, punctuated every so slightly by digitized tinkering, then opens into a semi-acoustic emo-pop tune. It's a reflective song with cascading keyboards at the end, making for a good capper to the album.
Stars on the Wall won me over at times, which is saying a lot since I'm not one for trendy emo vocals. It does lag a bit in spots, but it's got more than enough going for it to satiate indie-pop fans.