Stars - backlines, 2012

"Backlines" sizzles, pops and fades out quickly like a summertime sparkler: With a running time that barely exceeds two minutes, it hardly bothers to clear its throat before bursting to alternately woozy and spiky life. Stars' music isn't often ambiguous — there's a song on The North called "Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It," lest the mission statement get lost — but "Backlines" is instead content to get by on fizzy energy, vague references to romantic unease, and its own considerable charm."