In 'Fluorescent Light,' Stars Soar To Heart-Swelling Heights

Stars' music has moved through many phases since the band's launch back in 2000, from the fizzy, guitar-driven pop of Heart to the wrenching chamber-pop of Set Yourself On Fire to the grandiose orchestrations of In Our Bedroom After The War to the propulsive dance-floor workouts of No One Is Lost. Now, as the band prepares to release an as-yet-untitled, Peter Katis-produced album in October, it brings many of those sounds together in a new song called "Fluorescent Light."

A song for every Stars fan, "Fluorescent Light" sports a melancholy message about stasis, loneliness and the power of risk-taking: "Come out with me tonight, come out with me tonight," Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell sing in unison, before adding, "No one falls in love under fluorescent light." Along the way, the two swap verses — as they do in so many of Stars' best songs — before the arrangement soars to heart-swelling heights.

"Does no one fall in love under fluorescent light? Pretty sure that's not true, as many an office romance could attest," the band writes via email. "But as a statement in support of love's delusions, we will stand by it. In love, the lights are different, softer; the air has more oxygen in it; and for a second, all you need is a good chorus to believe this might be the one. It's a Stars song, but with Peter Katis producing it. So it's spaghetti with tomato sauce, but Mario Batali cooked it. So eat it."

"Fluorescent Light" will appear on an album due out this fall via Last Gang. Stars' members also headline a forthcoming documentary called Dinner With Stars, in which the band sits down for a meal together.

"Here's a preview of a film we made with our friend Anthony Seck," the group writes. "It's us having dinner and telling stories and eventually getting a little wasted. There's a baby in it, too. He's fantastic in it. In an age where you have to call an album a playlist and a video an event, this is just another one of our little films we make that let you know you're not alone, you're only as good as your best story, and it helps if there's music. Enjoy."

Shervin Lainez

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