Stars' Amy Millan: 'We're the Biggest Band You've Never Heard Of'

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While Arcade Fire might be one of the biggest bands to come out of Montreal in recent years, the Canadian city has long had a vibrant music scene, with exciting bands like Broken Social Scene and the Dears putting out stellar indie rock. Another of their cohorts is Stars, who dub themselves the "biggest band you've never heard of."

Stars recently released one of their most upbeat, danceable albums in their 15-year career, No One is Lost. This is not too surprising, given the fact that they recorded it above a gay disco. "We went with the noise coming up through the floorboards; that's why there's so much great disco on our new record," explains Amy Millan, Stars' co-lead vocalist. The band recently built a recording studio there, and happily absorbed all the atmosphere and history the space had to offer.

"It was actually the Arcade Fire apartment when Win [Butler] and Regine [Chassagne] moved to Montreal, and then it got turned into a studio for a bunch of bands to jam there," Millan explains.

Rather than just rehearsing there, the band, which also features co-lead vocalist Torquil Campbell, bassist Evan Cranley, drummer Patrick McGee, and keyboardist Chris Seligman, decided to invest in their own equipment and allow themselves the time and space to record at a leisurely pace, rather than having to pay through the nose to rent out a studio and constantly watch the clock.

"It seems that there's no stopping us when we're in our own studio," says Millan. "There's a good feeling recording live off the floor. It's nice to have a home, finally. We have a place that's safe. The fact that it's in Montreal means we hunker down like we're bears. The winter is very important to the hibernation and creative writing of Stars. Also the fact that we didn't have to go very far to have a drink was quite a treat!"

Stars have mastered the craft of writing introspective and insightful lyrics, but they often disguise their melancholy sentiments with shimmering synths and bright melodies. This definitely holds true of the songs on No One is Lost, and Millan points out that the album's title is actually a false statement. "'No One is Lost' is a lie, because we're all lost," she says matter-of-factly, before adding, "But f--- it, throw your hands up and dance. It's more hopeful. We're trying to convince ourselves for now that when we're at the shows together that no one is lost."

Stars made a conscious decision to shift from the melancholy tone of their previous album, The North, and created an album that would be more uplifting for the band and their fans. "Before it was a very sad record we made, so it was really nice to have that shift," says Millan. "For myself, I wanted to continue to write songs that brought that kind of exuberance to the crowd and lets us release our worries and dance. We live more in the playing of the music than in recording it, and I wanted to dance for two years while we're on tour!"

It's not surprising that the band that wants to bring joy to their fans (and whose website name, youarestars.com, reminds people of their fabulousness) uses social media to keep in close contact with their devoted audience. "When we put our album out, we were inundated on social media from our huge but small fanbase," Millan says. "I follow a lot of my fans — I actually follow them and I'm not just pretending to follow them. I'm paying attention. A boy recently tweeted that he'd just come out to his dad, and I wrote to him that that was so amazing. Being able to connect with him in that way was something amazing."