Contribute today and get The North by Stars as a thank you gift.

This week's CD of the week is The North, the sixth full-length studio album from the Canadian outfit, Stars. This record is the aural equivalent of a butterscotch hard candy. It's exactly the amount of sweet that you need at any given time.

"Hold On When You Get love And Let Go When You Give It" has the perfect beat to dance along to in your car. To me, "The 400" is both stark and desperate, while simultaneously airy and upbeat as the chant "It has to go right this time" rises through the song.

While The North is chock-full of sugar-sweet indie-pop gems, I find myself hitting play on a few tunes which feel like musical deja vu.

The album starts with "The Theory Of Relativity," which could easily be mistaken for a lost 80s-era New Order track. Amy Milan and Torquil Campbell's voices have never flowed together as well as on this recording.

I am especially fond of the 50s doo-wop-ish back-and-forth on the intro to "Do You Want To Die Together?" Amy's voice is both haunting and soaring and reminiscent of Cocteau Twins vocalist, Elizabeth Fraser on "Through The Mines" and "Lights Changing Colour." "The Loose Ends Will Make Knots" is the perfect companion piece to Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out."

One listen to The North will make it clear why this record debuted in the top 10 in Canada!

Related

• Contribute today and get The North by Stars as a thank you gift.
• Stars "The North" on Spotify