When there's nothing left to burn... do you trust your friends?

The Canadian band, Stars, is releasing a cover/remix album titled Do You Trust Your Friends, coming out on May 22. The artist line-up looks stellar; featuring groups such Montag, Apostle of Hustle, Junior Boys, Metric and The Stills. It's already become one of my most-anticipated new albums after listening to it earlier this week.

"A collection of re-mixes, re-interpretations and re-imaginings of Set Yourself on Fire. Would you let your friends redecorate your apartment, or do your homework for you? Would you let them buy your clothes or groceries? Would you leave them in charge of your kids? And if you did, what would they change? Does one of them secretly think you wear too much blue, or eat too much yogurt? If you let them rearrange your house, would they just slap a new coat of paint on the wall, or would they gut the whole damn place and start again? If you made a pop record, and then gave it to them to make again, what would they do to it?" - Dead Child Star, Vancouver, February 2007

The Final Fantasy version of "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" is especially ethereal and hauntingly beautiful. On the original the drums, guitar, French horn and trombone coupled with the piano and strings leave the song with a greater orchestral notion of defiance and resurrection. In contrast, the Final Fantasy version is stripped down to the vocals layered with a build-up of the original's piano and stings, giving it a feeling of penetrating tragedy and lasting sorrow. It's a testament to the depth of the lyrical and musical composition and the talent of the artists this such change in orchestration transforms it from being a song about deriving growth and strength from a failed relationship to a eulogy on despair, both conveying very moving, yet different, visions in the same words.



Final Fantasy - Your Ex-Lover is Dead (Stars Cover)

Preview the more of the album on the Stars' myspace and make sure to by the album in May!