Stars

“I think the number one obligation of a great pop song is to make you feel simultaneously celebratory and heartbroken,” Stars cofounder Torquil Campbell told Apple Music. This sentiment perfectly sums up the Canadian band’s mission statement since their inception at the turn of the century. On their 2001 debut, Nightsongs, Toronto natives Campbell and keyboardist Chris Seligman headed to NYC to craft an intimate collection of earnest, electro-tinged melodies that showcased their fondness for poetic guitar pop (complete with a plush Smiths cover). The album featured guest vocals by singer/guitarist Amy Millan, who would soon become a permanent fixture, along with bassist Evan Cranley—both actively involved in Toronto’s blossoming indie collective, Broken Social Scene. With a full lineup, the band moved to Montreal, where they’ve been mastering the fine art of the love song ever since. Singer/songwriters Campbell and Millan are vivid, intimate storytellers, exploring the messiness of romance with sweeping, cinematic splendour on 2004’s Set Yourself On Fire and 2007’s In Our Bedroom After the War. Even when Stars bring their heart-on-sleeve drama to the dance floor—as on the disco grooves of 2014’s No One Is Lost—they package it all in exquisite, gut-wrenching detail. Continuing forward with the tender synth-pop of 2017’s There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light and 2022’s From Capelton Hill, Stars remain committed to transforming life’s fleeting moments into timeless pop.