Sad Robots

Stars’ new, oddly titled Sad Robots EP is a reminder of how it all began, when the band was little more than a passion project between tortured, Smiths-influenced lead singer Torq Campbell and his keyboardist friend Chris Seligman. The songs were quaint, synth-heavy and more personal. Then Amy Millan and Evan Cranley came on board, and their sound and success has only grown. Perhaps Sad Robots is a reaction to that success, a six-track EP that keeps the band “honest,” as they say in sports; a chance to prove you can take the band away from Montreal, but you can’t take the Montreal out of them. There’s even a song in French, the title track, with the oh-so-Stars lyrics: “Il pleut, il pleut / je pleure, je pleure” (“It rains, it rains / I cry, I cry”). They may yet fill arenas, but Sad Robots, and such lovely tracks as “14 Forever” and Amy’s lilting “Undertow,” remind us Stars remain an intimate act. B
Stars: Undertow (mp3) (buy it)