Love is Here\nStarsailor\nCapitol Records\nWith the release of Love is Here, the cynic in me wants to declare Starsailor "this year's Coldplay," just as last year the cynic in me wanted to declare Coldplay "this year's Travis." The similarities are there, to be sure -- sensitive British guitar bands heavy on tunes and melodrama, light on innovation. But where Travis trades on their everyman affability and Coldplay gets by with singer Chris Martin's doe-eyed innocence, Starsailor brews a blend of sexual frustration and 20-something angst all their own -- one that won't set the world on fire, but makes for a satisfying listen all the same.\nAlbum opener "Tie Up My Hands" kicks off the theme of romantic dissatisfaction that permeates the record, as well as the tried-and-true musical template of gentle, strummy verses and grandiose choruses. "I wanna love you, but my hands are tied," complains singer James Walsh. "I need to be alone while I suffer," he says later on "Way to Fall." If love is here, it's certainly hiding itself pretty well.\nWalsh's lyrical self-obsession would probably wear thin after a while if it wasn't wrapped up in such gorgeous instrumental texture. "I need to be loved," he cloyingly reminds us on "Good Souls," as if we hadn't figured it out 10 songs% into the album. But another monster chorus bails him out just as listeners roll their eyes and say, "tell us something we don't know."\nProducer Steve Osborne avoids the sharp edges he's brought to other Brit-guitar ensembles like Suede and Placebo, focusing on the sweeping arrangements and "big" moments that give the album its punch. Some listeners might find that the formula adhered to by Starsailor is wearing a bit thin -- if you don't have time for the good-but-not-great, then you won't miss much by passing them up. But for Anglophiles looking to warm up their winter,Love is Here can be an inviting musical blanket.\n
