Canadian indie-pop! Catch the fever. Or don't.

About a year ago, a collective of Canuck math came together under the name of Broken Social Scene and released You Forgot It In People.

A stunning pop explosion of a record, People got quite a buzz going about the hidden treasures of north-country rock, and Stars, whose Evan Cranley plays with the Scene, are now among those most likely to succeed. If Stars' new record Heart is any indication, though, the band doesn't really deserve it.

Despite blasting off with the most disgustingly fey intro in music history (it's short, thank heavens), "What the Snowman Learned About Love" is brimming with melody, wintry and delicate. "Elevator Love Letter" is sublime, a shimmering radio-ready pop ditty, and though it might ape on that Primitive Radio Gods' song just a little too much, the title track is pretty great too. Four songs in, though, Heart hits an arterial clog or something and never really recovers. It doesn't help that "Life Effect" is a less impressive version of "Elevator Love Letter" and still better than the rest of the last half of the record. There's some stuff that sounds a lot like the last couple Mercury Rev records, and plenty of formless New Order jockin', but ultimately, it's the stuff that sounds like Natalie Imbruglia that works best. Who knew?

Heart is really, really pleasant, and if you're down with that accursed Postal Service album, you'd probably eat this up. Aside from a few standouts, though, you'll hardly even notice it's playing.

Remember that band, Heart? They had that song, "Barracuda"?

That song was awesome. I wish this were a whole album of that song. I guess that about sums it up.

-- Reviewed by Paul Thompson