Star People opens rolicking and celebrating … As the title insinuates, he sounds happy, almost rejoicing. The drums clap for him, the energy is relaxed enough to introduce a slight notion of mischief which just dangles there like a talisman, threatening but never upending the band’s casual composure. Part of the humility here is that it seems like the band has rehearsed and practiced extensively, like their conversation is a destiny they all shared lifetimes ago. As listeners, we are being caught up on established information, eavesdropping. It’s rare that you’d even try to eavesdrop on conversations that aren’t gossip-laden or secretive, but here we just spy on the possibility of it getting better, listening closely to learn how that progression sounds. This is the heart of Star People, tragic wistfulness creating an occasion for itself, in a time when music and politics are in an identity crisis, neither revolutionary nor decadent, just limboing in marketable cheerfulness between trends, waiting for new passions.”