Stellastarr* - Harmonies for the Haunted

So Harmonies for the Haunted is nothing new; it'd be easy enough to nail the band for repeat offense of poor-man doubling. But they're first-rate mocks-- as deft as dead-on cover bands come. Virtually all the LP's tracks flaunt role models plainly, but they draw from even fewer sources this time around. "Lost in Time" already plays uncannily reminiscent of the Cure's "Closedown". "Sweet Troubled Soul" is Bloc Party's "Helicopter" for drama kings who fancy their queens sweet and troubled-- "I want to suffer in your arms/ And when you're naked in the dark/ I want to see your face in the reflection of my bedroom stereo/ We'll take it slow." No room for jokester Kinks shit here-- especially since Christensen's pipes are Ric Ocasek's gone through two extra rounds of puberty.
Bitter singles going door-to-door caroling on Valentine's day would sound something like "Damn This Foolish Heart"-- dissolving into earnest rounds, all while Christensen's crying "no no no no." Speaking of histrionics: "Love and Longing" and "When I Disappear" channel the All-American Rejects-- picture lead singers' eyes closed, belting "I won't regret you." Christensen's puppy dog wails seem as recycled as the music itself. Even the Rejects camouflaged better.
But Harmonies kinda seduces, anyway; "Lost in Time" sheds some light on why: "I tried to say/ I miss you tonight/ And they claim you've already died/ But the truth is that we're lost in time." Here's a P.S./Birth-type set-up: Mostly-dead lovers getting uncannily resurrected as sweeter, younger things, but way less metaphysical.

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