Crushed Stars: Farewell Young Lovers

Album number seven under the Crushed Stars banner sees Dallas-based Todd Gautreau branching out a bit. A drummer is employed full-time to complement Gautreau’s plaintive guitars and deep, rich crooning. The result is that “Flowerbomb” sounds just like New Order, and the relatively noisy “Haters” skirts Jesus & Mary Chain territory. These tracks work better than the forced electronic elements of “Our Interest in Claire” or “Poppies”. Still, Gautreau really stands out when he’s doing melancholy, thoughtful dreampop, as on the gorgeous “This Happens Every Time”. Most definitely, this is the soundtrack to those idyllic, sunlit young lovers on the cover.