The sudden jolt of ‘Oh Crust”s dark intergalactic intro is a bit of a sudden change of mood, not necessarily a good one, considering that the track could have easily been left off of the album, although some listeners may enjoy its heavy gloom, it’s a relatively uninteresting dirge compared to everything else on offer here. Having said that, the psych-disco of ‘My Baby Just Sailed Away’ doesn’t really do very much either. The downbeat resignation of ‘Take Heart’ is like some sort of cosmic ballad, melodic and probably also the most accessible thing here. It’s one of the few moments here where the vocal feels like more of a leading feature rather than another instrument, like on the blissful highlight ‘I’m Back’ where the voice melts into soft waves of analogue synth. The lovely ‘Look Out Here They Come’ may come across as a rather lightweight closer at first, but doesn’t take long to charm with its bright outlook and colourful, understated electronic charm. It’s a sprawling and often self indulgent piece of work, but bearing in mind that it was made with an “include everything we record” spirit, Black Hearted Brother appear to have done rather well. Maybe a bit of editing and a higher level of quality control on one or two tracks would have made for a stronger and more consistent album, but ‘Stars Are Our Home’ is what it is. At least you couldn’t ever accuse them of not being diverse enough. [Rating:4]
