Stars release new album 'From Capelton Hill'

Montreal’s Stars today released From Capelton Hill—their ninth album and the first new music from the group in five years—via Last Gang Records/MNRK to early acclaim via glowing reviews at Brooklyn Vegan, AllMusic (4/5), Exclaim! (8/10), Music OHM (4/5), Record Collector (4/5), MusikExpress (5/5) and more. 

**Click to save/stream Stars' From Capelton Hill

The band will celebrate with a career-spanning release day livestream later today, billed as ‘Live From Capelton Hill,’ where they’ll play new songs and fan favorites via Bandcamp Live (the show begins at 5pm ET and tickets are available HERE). Stars will continue virtual festivities on May 31st, beginning with a full album playback via Tim Burgess’ Listening Party series at 1pm ET, followed by a Reddit AMA at Indieheads at 2pm ET.

The band will embark on a headlining West Coast tour on June 4th in Vancouver, BC leading up to their two release shows at LA's The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever on June 13th and 14th. Dates can be found here.

This week, Stars were musical guests on WNYC’s Soundcheck podcast, playing full-band versions of new songs (and sharing a new live video for “Build A Fire”), while various members shared the influences that inspired From Capelton Hill via a Brooklyn Vegan feature. Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell are also today’s musical guests on CBC Radio 1's q with Tom Power to discuss the new LP, following other new podcast interviews via Joe Plummer’s Tour Stories, Ears to Feed’s In Conversation, and Comedy Bang Bang. The album’s five pre-release singles, “Build A Fire,” “Patterns,” “Pretenders,” “Capelton Hill” (plus live performance video), and “Snowy Owl,” have been released to praise and support from the likes of Pitchfork, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim!, Under The Radar, and more. 

Musically, From Capelton Hill feels like walking into their familiar teenage bedroom. Campbell says it cuts to the band’s founding principles: it is brimming with gothic, dazzling ‘80s and ‘90s Britpop arrangements, but rendered with intimacy and warmth rather than with cold, digital remove. A wealth of horn and string arrangements unfold across the record in true Stars fashion, dreamy and macabre. From Capelton Hill is ultimately about a group of people who have spent more than 20 years together, and who have now started to face the awful, necessary calculus each human eventually must do: when will all of this end?