Kevin Bronson on November 11th, 2010

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Back in the days of impulse buys and agonizing over judging a CD by its cover, I dropped some paycheck on “Nightsongs,” the first album by Stars. Maybe I noted the cover of “This Charming Man,” or possibly I sampled the music in one of those then-revolutionary listening stations at Fingerprints. I don’t remember which, but it was one of the best record-store risks I ever took. The Canadian collective’s indie-soul take on the C86 aesthetic hit me right in my melancholy then and continues to now, five albums in, with this summer’s “The Five Ghosts.” Torquil Campbell, Amy Millan and gang have released the album on their own imprint, but it’s as strong as anything they’ve done, and I’ve chuckled a bit at the middling reviews “The Five Ghosts” has gotten. With twee, heart-on-sleeve synth-pop emerging from bedrooms everywhere nowadays, I wonder what reaction the album would get if Stars were 22-year-old newbies (with a little more reverb). I’m rather thankful they’re not.

||| Download: “Wasted Daylight”

||| Live: Stars perform Friday night at the Wiltern.