Laleh – Stars Align

“It departs from the pop formula just enough to be new and interesting.”

Tim: We haven’t featured Laleh for a while, which is a bit of a shame because her last single, Colors, was really very good. But here’s the second single off her album of that name, and fortunately it too is really very good.

Tom: I wouldn’t go as far as “very good” — that wha-hoo in the chorus doesn’t work for me, and the transition back to the verse really grates — but it’s certainly putting a decent effort in. It departs from the pop formula just enough to be new and interesting.

Tim: Hmm. I actually have no problem with either of the issues you mentioned, although I will say that I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with the lyrics, what with “walking in the town like a ghost” being significantly different from “the world that I’m so much a part of”; on the other hand I suppose stars aligning is a good thing? Sounds a bit like horoscopey guff, but using it is fine by me if you’re going to produce a tune like this from it. It’s brilliant – almost a cross between the drums of Emmelie de Forest and heading towards the vocals of Icona Pop, combined to form wonderful results.

Tom: That’s a good analogy, particularly in that middle eight.

Tim: Video’s good, too, especially the blend thing when she talks about walking like a wolf, although that does bring back the heavy disappointment that arrives whenever I realise I’ll probably never be a werewolf. Oh well.