Are you a sad robot?

"Ten thousand drunken kids in a field can't be wrong / The song must be beautiful, or they wouldn't sing along / And sometimes the kids all seem a little sad / it's because they're saying goodbye / to the youth they think they had"
Stars - 14 Forever

In a seemingly stealth move by my favourite homegrown talent, Stars (from Toronto, now living in Montreal) have released a new digital EP entitled Sad Robot. There are five tracks available to purchase at sadrobot.ca, with a live version of Going, Going, Gone up for grabs for free.

The site itself is beautifully designed, and the front splash page has a wonderfully melancholy loop that is somewhat typical of the band's music, save for the quiet robotic voice that echoes in the background. There is not much more to the microsite, save for a page where you can listen to short samples of each track off the EP, as well as links to purchase them.

There is also a list of tour dates on that page. They will be touring a bit through the US--ostensibly including these tracks in their setlist--and there are some Eastern Canada dates in October. The only physical copies of the EP (for now?) are being sold at their shows. I have an uncitable source stating that they have an "all new live show based on the Sad Robots aesthetic", but even without the window dressing, Stars are guaranteed to put on a good show.

Sad Robot picks up where their previous album--In Our Bedroom After the War--left off. Sultry, shimmering melodies are wrapped around the clean and ever nostalgic-sounding vocals of Torquil and Amy, but there are some more electronic elements, befitting of the title. The sound of this EP is clearly the continued evolution of Stars' sound, and while it has shades of all of their previous albums, it still manages to sound fresh and captivate listeners with their unique recipe for beautifully crafted indie pop.

Sad Robots EP:

01 Maintenance Hall, 4am
02 A Thread Cut With a Carving Knife
03 Undertow
04 Going, Going, Gone (live)
05 14 Forever
06 Sad Robot

Official website: http://arts-crafts.ca/stars/


* Apologies that the image looks like an ad... I unfortunately do not work for Arts & Crafts, but that was the only pic I could find, and I didn't feel like cropping it. Will you forgive me?

** Apparently this EP was recorded at Studio Plateau... eight minutes from my apartment! Any other T61 members from Montreal? Send me a note on my T61 wall.