Originally used by director Kenneth Burns for cinematic emphasis, the Ken Burns Effect is a technique in which a camera pans across an inanimate object (like a picture) and slowly zooms in or out on certain subjects of interest involving that object (close up on somebody in the picture). If you had to convert that technique into something musical that you could record and put on a CD, then Brooklyn based group Stars Like Fleas’ album The Ken Burn Effect is probably as close as you could get. Simple sounds evolve into orchestral performances, which then take on delicate ambient noises. Hybrid folk/jazz melodies intricately fade one track into the next. The whole album feels like you’re being told an incredible story filled with delicate characters, grand climaxes, and subtle plot twists which all eventually come together into one grandiose tale of unparalleled proportions.
“I Was Only Dancing,” a personal favorite of mine, holds very subtle on/off drum beats and folky strings contrasted with piano and vocal melodies calming enough to be a dream. “Falstaff” is very similar in style, with more wistful string melodies and dreamy spoken word. Other tracks such as “Berbers In Tennis Shoes” and “You Are My Memoir” range from upbeat indie pop to synth/goth clamors.
The Ken Burns Effect’s instrumental variation causes your mind to wander and your imagination to unfurl until being suddenly thrown back into reality. “Early Riser” makes use of random ambiance, extended silence, chants and hums to keep rhythm. “See For the Woods” bears an almost uncanny resemblance to almost any Sigur Ros song, a group which Stars Like Fleas clearly enjoys. The album concludes with “Some Nettles,” a fourteen minute collage on various musical elements from the entire album: gentle ambiance, somber strings, dreamy almost unrealistic vocals, speaker blowing synth waves, and jazz ensemble collaborations.
In the end there’s no denying Stars Like Fleas is here to offer something different. While still borrowing from Sigur Ros, they offer a sound that’s equally indefinable, yet just as memorable. The Ken Burns Effect is an extremely diverse album that will still manage to surprise you after your tenth listen. Highly recommended.
Stars Like Fleas - I Was Only Dancing
Stars Like Fleas - Karmas Hoax
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