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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Set Yourself On Fire
Universal acclaim
Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 79 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Arts & Crafts
Release Date: 08 March 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
Boasting a somewhat higher profile after a tour supporting Broken Social Scene, fellow Canadians Stars return with a third LP, produced by Tony Hoffer.
Also By This Artist: Heart In Our Bedroom After The War
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Amy Millan: Honey From The Tombs
Also On The Web: Stars @ Arts & Crafts
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Spin
Delicate Casio-toned anthems. [Mar 2005, p.91]
Delusions of Adequacy
This is a gorgeous pop album that deals maturely with a wide range of emotions and ideas.
Read Full Review >Planet
It's hard to think of a more fully realized album out now. [#9, p.70]
Drowned In Sound
Set Yourself On Fire could become your favourite record, and Stars should justifiably be many people's favourite band.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
The songs spring from a warm hearth, upping the ante from their well-received sophomore LP, 2003's Heart.
Read Full Review >Filter
This stunning third full-length does an incredible job of riding the highest of highs. [#14, p.101]
Pitchfork
Set Yourself on Fire is about breaking up and breaking down, and as such the album feels wontedly cathartic, like the moments right after you hit your emotional nadir and start getting your shit together. Stars handle the mood delicately with few slip-ups; my only complaint is that they never handle much of anything else.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
It takes more getting used to than their previous work, but it rewards even more for it.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
It's sort of an indie-pop Rumours, sans the wooden balls. [11 Mar 2005, p.102]
Stylus Magazine
It’s not that the male-female duo vocals make it or even the moments where the group channels the Delgados in their sublime use of strings and horns; it’s more that Stars has gotten tighter since their last outing.
Read Full Review >The New York Times
Like many of the best indie-pop bands, this one is musically conservative. Rather than chase new forms and sounds, the members are content to perfect the mannered pop song, nodding to forebears and fellow travelers, from Prefab Sprout to the Postal Service. [30 Dec 2004]
Alternative Press
Sweet without being saccharine. [Mar 2005, p.124]
Splendid
Vocalists Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan connect with their audience with the breathy ease of scenester storytellers, sketching out their tales in economical but well-chosen strokes, and the tunes behind them, invariably elegant, are often deceptively cheeerful.
Read Full Review >Billboard
In the end, the group proves that its unflinching lyrics and memorable melodies are well suited for songs about warring lovers and war itself.
Read Full Review >Blender
The songs are sincere without sappiness and orchestral without bombast. [Apr 2005, p.125]
Junkmedia
Aside from the added guitar riffs and post-punk tones, Stars stick with a lush string section and neatly placed horns throughout, and their romantic appeal stays largely intact.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Stars rely instead on melody, charisma, and lyrics as sharp as any modern essayist, and it's all they need to sell the quiet grandness of Set Yourself On Fire.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
A marvellous little menagerie of smart, eccentric guitar pop full of arty tics and tricks. [13 Aug 2005, p.58]
Paste Magazine
Nothing short of breathtaking. [#14, p.119]
Urb
Sweet femme fatale vocals, oceanic synth waves and shoegazing guitar riffs abound on these sprawling sound confections. [Jun 2005, p.85]
The Guardian
Most of these powerful pop songs bloom to match the intensity of the feelings they lament.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
Contains some of their best work, as well as some of their most indulgent.
Read Full Review >Uncut
While nothing here quite matches the last album's majestically weary "Elevator Love Letter", Set Yourself On Fire is still quite sublime. [Sep 2005, p.104]
Q Magazine
An album of some considerable beauty. [Sep 2005, p.118]
Under The Radar
It's a satisfying album, and its richness becomes increasingly apparent on subsequent listens. [#9]
Dusted Magazine
It’s fairly impressive that Stars could make a record that comes this close to replicating its predecessor while still offering discrete pleasures of its own.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Like Ivy and other suave postmodern light-rockers, Stars sounds better in small bites than big gulps.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Fusing elements of Human League’s sophisticated new romantic aesthetic and Belle & Sebastian’s unapologetically arty preciousness, Montreal-based Stars deliver their most consistent effort with Set Yourself on Fire.
Read Full Review >Mojo
It's a little hard to take in one sitting, though downcast fans of Saint Etienne and The Magnetic Fields will find much to adore. [Sep 2005, p.92]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 79 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
The highlight of 05! Terrific album, no filler whatsoever. Every song is perfectly constructed, and wonderfully sung by both Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan (who I'm in love with, BTW). This band is definitely the new Fleetwood Mac of now, cause, they make lovely, feel good pop songs that just lift you up when your feeling down. All in all, SYOF is a modern classic.
Blake gave it a10:
BEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME!!! Beautiful little gem.
tim gave it a9:
I forgot about this record. 2005 was such an aweful year it was hard to find true gems in a sea of crap. I used to get them confused with Azure Ray, Let's Go Sailing, Midnight Movies, High Violets and Frou Frou so I kind of clumped them in that whole nugazer catagory. This record proves their on a level of their own. Excellent!
Logan gave it a10:
Truly wonderful! Filled with tons and tons marvelous songs from start to finish. Great music that anyone can enjoy.
Ronnie gave it a10:
My favorite album of 05. A real gem from this talented canadian band.
Sam K gave it a10:
A Modern Mastepiece. I try to listen to it everyday.
Roco C gave it a10:
Great album about love.
