Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11003CE5B9A5C033?artistid=807338&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1

Starsailor struck gold with their 2001 debut, Love is Here. Spurred on by advance hype - notably, one reviewer saying singer James Walsh has “a voice that thrums like an emotional telegraph wire”—the disc went to #2 in the UK charts. The band, named after a Tim Buckley album, was feted by critics and swooned over by audiences for its impassioned, cascading guitar-pop (the charting tunes “Fever”, “Alcoholic”, “Good Souls” and “Lullaby” are all from the debut). Critics name-checked Keane and Coldplay, but Starsailor hewed to its own course, employing famed producer Phil Spector for their follow-up disc. The two parted ways, however, early in the sessions, but not before their collaboration yielded two magnificent songs, including the title track, “Silence is Easy”.

Though successful here and abroad, the disc was seen by some as a disappointment, and the English group took more time and care recording On the Outside. The result is Starsailor’s best record—heavier musically, more aggressive lyrically, and more adventurous (some tracks are even gospel-tinged), the disc fulfills the band’s early promise (named Brightest New Hope at the NME Awards in 2001) with epic, arena-ready tunes like “Keep Us Together” and “In My Blood” and a more determined, focused sense of purpose.