Stellastarr* News: Stellastarr*

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f post-punk revival is the musical equivalent of fast food, then Civilized is most assuredly its Happy Meal. Stellastarr*'s third full-length release is a friendly and highly polished slice of guilty pleasure, neatly packaged and audience-tested in an obvious bid to maximize its mass palatability. Yet despite the naked manufacturing (some of which includes blatant thievery from Bloc Party and similar bands), Civilized is highly effective in its role as sonic junk food, dishing out sharp hooks and self-deprecated narratives with brevity and ease. Perhaps empty calorie music needn't be empty-headed after all, as evidenced by the clever whimsy of...