Stellastarr* - Harmonies for the Haunted

Stellastarr’s new album, Harmonies for the Haunted, is a winner. I was really looking forward to this CD since their debut album (the self-titled Stellastarr*), was a really good record that yielded two great songs, “Jenny” and “My Coco”.

There are no immediate standout tracks, but I may find it after listening to the album a few more times. This CD contains Stellastarr's typical 80’s-style sound; sure, it can be a little derivative (the first song, “Lost in Time”, curiously sounds a lot like the Cure’s “Pictures of You”), but who cares? They're still a good band that makes great music.

The most annoying thing about this CD is the copy-protection the record label puts in that prevents you from freely ripping the songs like any standard CD. The CD will allow you to copy the songs to your computer in the Windows Media format, but it won’t let you convert these files to MP3. If you try to rip the CD in iTunes, the songs come out garbled.

After doing a little internet research, here’s what worked for me: burn an audio CD from the Windows Media files (I used Nero to do this), then use this CD to rip the songs into iTunes. It worked for me; it may work for you too.

…So beyond the ripping issues, the CD is worth a listen. Plus, it’s got a really cool cover.