8/10 Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead @ The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA 4/18/13
Channel: wojo4hitz
Date: 19/04/2013

Stars' music has been described as "beautiful, eloquent indie pop",[9] characterized by lush instrumentation, nimble production and mixing, narrative lyrics, and soft but nuanced vocals. The band's style has evolved from an electronic-pop sound as heard on Nightsongs (released on Le Grand Magistery record label) to more rock-based instrumentation on their following three full-length albums, reflecting the permanent additions of singer-guitarist Amy Millan and bassist Evan Cranley on Heart (released on Paper Bag Records), and eventually drummer Pat McGee on Set Yourself on Fire.

Their songs have been featured on Queer as Folk, Alias, The O.C., Warehouse 13, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Skins, Chuck, One Week, and the 2011 film Like Crazy.

All members of Stars grew up in Toronto. Torquil Campbell and Christopher Seligman started the first record Nightsongs in New York in 1999. When starting to play live shows they called in Evan Cranley, a childhood friend, to play bass. Cranley then recruited Amy Millan. The four of them then all moved to Montreal and began to work on the second full length album Heart. In Montreal they met Patrick Mcgee, who became their drummer. Heart was released on the new label Arts&Crafts along with their friends Broken Social Scene. While on their first north American tour together, Stars and Broken Social Scene shared and swapped members on a nightly basis.

After critical acclaim for their album Heart, Stars rented a house in the Eastern Townships in the middle of winter. For a month and a half the five of them lived together and wrote Set Yourself on Fire. It was recorded at studio plateau in Montreal and was produced by the band and Tom Mcfall. The record was highly received, scoring high points and incredible reviews. Set Yourself on Fire and their highly acclaimed live performances, established them as one of the best bands in Canada.