| Stars | |
|---|---|
 Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, Stockholm 2005
|
|
| Background information | |
| Origin |  Montreal Quebec Canada |
| Genre(s) | Indie pop Indie rock |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Label(s) | Arts & Crafts, Le Grand Magistery, Paper Bag |
| Associated acts |
Broken Social Scene Memphis Amy Millan |
| Website | www.arts-crafts.ca/stars |
| Members | |
| Torquil Campbell Amy Millan Evan Cranley Chris Seligman Pat McGee |
|
Stars is a Canadian indie pop band. Originally formed in Toronto by vocalist Torquil Campbell and keyboardist Chris Seligman, the band relocated to New York City and then subsequently to Montreal.
Contents |
Sound
Stars' music has been described as "beautiful, eloquent indie pop", characterized by lush instrumentation, nimble production and mixing, narrative lyrics, and soft but nuanced vocals.[1][2] The band's style has evolved from an electronic-pop sound as heard on Nightsongs (released on the Le Grand Magistery record label) to more rock-based instrumentation on their last two 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.
Career
The band's breakthrough single was "Ageless Beauty", from their 2004 album Set Yourself on Fire. Millan, Cranley and Campbell are also members of the indie band Broken Social Scene, with whom they currently share a record label, Arts & Crafts. Campbell is also an actor and has appeared on the television shows Sex and the City and Law & Order. Millan released a solo album in 2006. Several of the band's songs, such as "The Vanishing", "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead", and "The Big Fight", have appeared on the Fox Network's The O.C. and CTV's Degrassi: The Next Generation. Their single "Ageless Beauty" was also featured in a promotional trailer for Vh1's So NoTORIous. On their website, the band has noted that their name was chosen without prior knowledge of the short-lived project by Syd Barrett.[3] They have cited a wide variety of musical likes and influences ranging from Berlioz to Outkast, citing among others Barrett, Paddy McAloon, New Order, The Smiths, Brian Wilson, Momus, and Broken Social Scene. They covered The Smiths' "This Charming Man" on 2001's Nightsongs and The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" in 2005. Other indie artists have been guest collaborators on many of their tracks, especially for an early period including the release of their first LP. They recently surprised their fans by releasing their latest studio album (In Our Bedroom After the War), on July 10, 2007, a full two months ahead of its expected release date, onto iTunes. When Stars released In Our Bedroom After the War to online retailers weeks before the CD's actual release date to circumvent the album's inevitable leak, part of their reasoning touched on the increasingly blurry line between critics and listeners. The band believed indie-rock fans should be able to review and provide opinions of the band's albums similar in a way to the so-called critics, but soon realized that the outcome could be very far from their ideal expectation. Soon after the music site Pitchfork Media gave the new album a 7.4 out of 10, Torquil Campbell offered up a rant that not only tore into the music site and the reviewer but lamented the death of art and criticism, which as a result prompted much scoffing from some critics and bloggers, as well as approval from others.[4] The band contributed a T-shirt design to the Yellow Bird Project[5] to raise money for Le Chainon, a women's shelter located in Montreal, Quebec.
Discography
Studio albums
| Album | Record Label | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Nightsongs | Le Grand Magistery | 2001 |
| Heart | Paper Bag Records/Arts & Crafts/Setanta | 2003 |
| Set Yourself on Fire | Arts & Crafts | 2004 |
| In Our Bedroom after the War | Arts & Crafts | 2007 |
EPs and singles
| Single | Record Label | Year | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Lot of Little Lies for the Sake of One Big Truth | Le Grand Magistery | 2001 | EP |
| The Stars Are Out Tonight | Le Grand Magistery | 2001 | 12" |
| The Comeback | Le Grand Magistery | 2001 | EP |
| Dead Child Stars | Paper Bag Records | 2002 | EP |
| My Radio (B-Side: Romantic Comedy) |
Setanta Records | 2003 | 7" |
| Elevator Love Letter | Setanta Records | 2003 | CD-Single |
| Petite Mort (B-side: What the Snowman Learned about Love [Montag Remix] |
Arts & Crafts | 2004 | 7" |
| Ageless Beauty (B-sides: Petit Mort & Ageless Beauty [Most Serene Mix] |
City Slang Records | 2005 | CD-Single, 7" |
| Your Ex-Lover Is Dead (B-side: Fairytale of New York) |
City Slang Records | 2005 | CD-Single, 7" |
| Reunion (B-sides: Drive By [KCRW Live Version] & He Lied about Death [North Hatley Version]) |
City Slang Records | 2005 | Digital download Single, 7digital |
| It's Alchemy! | Le Grand Magistery | 2005 | Digital download Single |
| Take Me to the Riot (B-side: Division) |
Arts & Crafts | 2007 | 7" |
| The Night Starts Here |
City Slang | 2007 | CD-Single, 7" |
Compilations
| Compilation Name | Record Label | Year | Stars song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was It Him or His Music? | Le Grand Magistery | 1999 | "My Radio" |
| March Records | 2000 | "Stay with Me Tonight" | |
| Sounds Eclectic | Palm Pictures | 2000 | "Going, Going, Gone" |
| Siblings Soundtrack | Unknown Label | 2004 | "Golden Chain" |
| 'DET Live! Vol. 3 | WDET-FM 101.9 Detroit | 2002 | "Driveby (Live version recorded 10/27/2000)" |
| Music from the OC: Mix 5 | Warner Bros. Records | 2005 | "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" |
| A Very Magistery Christmas | Le Grand Magistery | 2005 | "Christmas Song", "A New Year (Live)" |
Remix albums
| Album | Record Label | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Do You Trust Your Friends? | Arts & Crafts | 2007 |
Awards and nominations
- Heart - Nomination: Alternative Album of the Year Juno Award, (2004).
- Set Yourself on Fire - Nomination: Alternative Album of the Year Juno Award, (2005).
References
External links
- Stars (official site)
- Stars at MySpace
- Setanta Records site
- Torquil Campbell at the Internet Movie Database
- Stars @ New Music Canada
- "Pessimistic Romance" Stars in Session on CBC Radio 3
- [2] [Stars Live]
- Stars Live Performance on AOL Music Canada
| Stars |
|---|
| Torquil Campbell | Amy Millan | Evan Cranley | Chris Seligman | Patrick McGee Steve Ramsay | Emily Haines | James Shaw |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: Nightsongs (2001) | Heart (2002) | Set Yourself on Fire (2004) | In Our Bedroom after the War (2007) |
| Other albums: Do You Trust Your Friends? (2007) |
| EPs: A Lot of Little Lies for the Sake of One Big Truth (2000) | The Comeback (2001) | Dead Child Stars (2002) |
| Singles: "The Stars Are Out Tonight" (2001) | "My Radio" (2003) | "Elevator Love Letter" (2003) | "Petite Mort" (2004) | "Ageless Beauty" (2004) | "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" (2005) | "It's Alchemy!" (2005) |
| Record labels: Le Grand Magistery | Paper Bag Records | Setanta Records | Arts & Crafts | City Slang Records |
| Related articles |
| Memphis | Big Rude Jake | Broken Social Scene |
