Summary: “Without nostalgia,” Torquil Campbell explains, “I don’t know how you make pop music.” It’s an inescapable dimension of Stars music, if only because the band essentially grew up together in Toronto. Plenty has changed, of course, in the nearly 20 years since the group formed. Two members married one another, and Campell became the sole member to move away, relocating part-time to Vancouver and a spot near Niagra Falls for his wife’s theater acting career. But the indie-pop group’s career has remained strong. Stars’ ninth studio album, There Is No Love in Fluorescent Light is among their strongest, and we meet up backstage at Rough Trade in Brooklyn, fans are already lined up, waiting to get into one of multiple sold out shows. Back in the city where the spent so many of its formative years, the singer seems especially reflective. “Pop music without nostalgia,” he adds in almost a whisper, “Is like coffee without cream."
