Stars

"Bitches in Tokyo"

by Brian Howard

Yeah, yeah. Montreal's Stars are grand and symphonic, swelling and histrionic and so very multimembered in that way every band from north of 5440' (or the St. Lawrence Seaway?) seems to be these days. And their new In Our Bedroom After the War (Arts & Crafts) is exactly as epic and breathless as the title implies. Yes, we occasionally need to forgive them their overindulgences in the same way we forgive, say, Wolf Parade's or the Arcade Fire's. All of which makes "Bitches in Tokyo" such a total joyride. Two minutes and 50 seconds of blistering guitar pop is just the sort of mental break one needs two-thirds of the way through a very high-minded album. Amy Milan (one of the band's two vocalists) belts "All this sabotage and blame/ Well I can take it/ Because I just want you back/ I just want you back!" over a chunky guitar line (and synthesizers and "oooh-ee-oooh"s, of course). It's unclear what the "bitches" and "Tokyo" are all about — they don't appear in the lyrics — but as you're throwing your head around to the big chorus, you don't much care.

Stars perform Wed., Oct. 24, 8 p.m., $16, with New Buffalo at the Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., www.r5productions.com.