Seeing "Stars" at Pearl Street

Appeared in The Daily Collegian on September 17th, 2008.

Thank you, Canada, for exporting some of the greatest bands in indie music. You have given us bands like Broken Social Scene, Tegan and Sara, Arcade Fire, the New Pornographers, and the featured band for tonight: Stars - a big-hearted group scheduled to perform at Pearl Street, 8 p.m.

As Stars moves from east to west for its jam-packed North American tour with opening band BellX1, Stars is in pursuit of making and breaking some hearts with its eloquence and catharsis. This quartet is comprised of Amy Millan, Torquil Campbell, Evan Cranley and Chris Seligman. As a band nearly 10 years of age, the group has released four studio albums while racking up some commendable award nominations along the way.

Though Stars has been active for some time now, success and recognition didn't come too quickly until the 2004 breakthrough album, "Set Yourself on Fire." If you have ever watched popular teen shows like "The O.C." or "Degrassi," chances are you've heard one or two of the band's songs in the background. Songs were also featured in other major shows like "Sex and the City" and "Law and Order."

Indie musicians have to make revenue somewhere, right? In a recent Q&A in The Advocate, Campbell, the lead vocalist, made a statement about the decision to sell the band's songs to glib programming.

"We despise it [TV culture], just like everyone else does. And we are slaves to it, just like everyone else is," said Campbell.

Stars is a band that is capable of great things. In the recording studio and at live shows, the two lead singers, Campbell and Millan, switch off vocals to produce sounds that are breathily dulcet (via Millan) and courageously plaintive (via Campbell).

As a duo, the band relies on the call-and-response technique, which in turn makes the music conversational and rounder sounding. Because it works for them, discordance and harmony in the band's lyricism have become the essence of Stars.

An element as important as vocals that gives way to Stars' distinction is the music. It is chamber pop filled with orchestral instruments that flirts with electronic synthesized keyboards. Stars produces some of the most poignant sounds heard in indie pop today. The melodies are infectious and have the ability to make you melt.

These mavericks play with different styles ranging from funk ("Ghost of Geneva Heights") to dark angular rock ("He Lied About Death"). The use of lush brass instruments gives Stars sex appeal. The band finds a happy medium between playing freely and using good technique - an essential component of a quality band.

Stars' latest full-length album, "In Our Bedroom After the War," has a fresh motif that is consolidated into the last twenty seconds of the track, "The Beginning After the End." It is a question of lost time and the meaning of war and destruction.

Another tune on the new album, "The Night Starts Here," is an empowering number that has disco credit - it could be sung by any Donna Summer type. . The song starts out with epic keyboards that create a dawning sensation. Millan opens with, "The night starts here, forget your name, forget your fear." With lyrics like that, how much more liberated disco queen can you get?

These earnest modern romantics yearn for a freer and expressive world and it is written on Stars' faces when performing live. Tonight, the band is likely to try out some new material that is only for purchase on-line.

The band's next performance will be in Providence, RI at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel tomorrow if you can't catch the Pearl Street show this evening.

Tickets for tonight's show are still available for purchase.