[music] STARS - Set Yourself On Fire (Arts & Crafts)

I don't know if Stars have improved as songwriters or if they just don't radiate as much self-satisfaction as they did last time, but I like this record a dozen times better than Heart. That said, can any Canadian hipster make it through a whole album without a smug song about how much George Bush sucks? That ought to be a very hard sentiment to make unsympathetic, but, as with Emily Haines of Metric, not so. (Torquil Campbell said in an interview that "He Lied About Death" was inspired by Bush, but added, "I specifically didn't mention his name. It can be about Osama Bin Laden or anyone." He must have forgotten writing the line "I hope your drunken daughters are gay".)