The Five GhostsVagrant/ Soft Revolution Records ****

There's something of a chill at the core of this marvellous album. This follow-up to Stars' In Our Bedroom After the Waris all foreboding titles ( Dead Hearts, Wasted Daylight, I Died So I Could Haunt You, Winter Bones), but it's also the sound of sturdy indie-pop taken to new levels. It's perplexing that a band as fine-tuned and match-fit as these Canadians haven't crossed over into anything approximating the mainstream. Their melodies are hard-wired and their approach to music is lean and sinewy, so perhaps it's the song content, which borders on the morbid and morose. And yet they're a cracking band. Just listen to I Died So I Could Haunt You, We Don't Want Your Bodyand The Last Song Ever Writtenand you'll know you're in the presence of a singular mindset as well as a singular sound. Their Electric Picnic show can't come any sooner. See youarestars.com

Download tracks:I Died So I Could Haunt You, The Last Song Ever Written