Canada’s biggest export these days seems to be the kind of bands Sasha Frere-Jones loves to hate — sincere indie rock that looks to postpunk for inspiration and wouldn’t know a funk beat if it bit them on the ass. So it is with Stars, who were in New York last night touring behind their new album In Our Bedroom After The War. Singer and whirling dervish Torquil Campbell spent as much time marveling over the ornate interior of Town Hall as he did singing, but when he and angel-voiced Amy Millan did sing it made a glorious noise indeed. The band tore it up as well, with Pat McGee’s drumming and Andrew Whiteman’s guitar playing notably vigorous.

More important was the fact that the new songs shook off the shackles of their overproduction live, revealing “My Favorite Book” and “Window Bird” as the hidden gems they are. Of course the crowd really wanted to hear tracks from 2005′s breakthrough album Set Yourself On Fire and they went wild for “Reunion” and “Ageless Beauty”, and “Soft Revolution” was a definite highlight.

Both Campbell and Millan were a joy to watch: They switched off on instruments with Millan playing a flute at one point and Campbell busting out with a trumpet several times. For the most part Millan bopped around with a guitar strapped around her and Campbell led the crowd in clap-alongs, emerging in a suit of lights for one song and finally ending the show by wading into the audience and making his way all the way out to the back of the theatre.

This is a band not to be missed live, even if you feel lukewarm about the new album. They open everything up and their dedication and passion is infectious. Below is a clip of them earlier this year playing “The Night Starts Here” in a much smaller venue than Town Hall.

This week’s new releases are headed up by the Foo Fighters, who bring back The Colour and The Shape producer Gil Norton for the poorly named Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace .

Sam Beam’s band Iron and Wine open up their sound with The Shepherd’s Dog which features previous collaborators Calexico and a broader palette than his earlier folky releases.

Chaka Khan comes back after 11 years with Jagged Edge and hip-hop/soul chanteuse Jill Scott busts out with Real Thing: Words And Sounds Vol. 3.

Quirky cutie Nellie McKay releases her latest Obligatory Villagers.

Way alt-country troubadour Steve Earle issues Washington Square Serenade.

Joni Mitchell breaks the silence by releasing a new album on the Starbucks Hear Music label at the same time as jazzman Herbie Hancock puts out a guest-studded Joni covers disc.

Weird beard Devendra Banhart sends Smoky Rolls Down Thunder Canyon into the world like so much incense smoke.

Stars In The Bedroom After the War finally sees release in stores after being available online for some time.

The Canadian band Stars had a major artistic breakthrough with 2004′s Set Yourself on Fire. For their follow-up, In Our Bedroom after the War they have come down with a major case of Summer sequel-itis. Like something out of the Die Hard franchise they have taken all the things that were hallmarks of Fire, even down to the portentous literary referenced album title being spoken at the outset, and made them bigger, bolder and brighter. There are more strings, slicker production, brighter vocals, bolder arrangements. This isn’t a disaster but it makes for an album that feels more distanced and less inviting than it’s predecessor.
That’s not to say that there is nothing to like here. Sometime Broken Social Scene-ster Amy Millan still has a heart-tugging yearning in her voice, which goes nicely with co-singer Torquil Cambell’s detached iciness. Many of the songs are top-notch — first single “The Night Starts Here” pulses along on an insistent groove, “The Ghost of Genova Heights” comes over as 1985 era Scritti Politti new wave, and “Window Bird” rides an outro of furiously solo-ing David Gilmour-esque guitars. Still, Campbell amps up his Morissey-isms a bit too much at times, and it’s hard to recommend this to newcomers to the band even though by all measures it’s more “accessible” than it’s predecessor. For the already initiated, there are pleasure here that unlock over repeated listenings, but Set Yourself on Fire remains the high-water mark by which all other Stars albums must be judged. Stars gets…er..three out of five stars: