It’s the music of the past penetrating the present.

With Stars’ sixth album The North, there’s an 80s electronic pop vibe present in the songs.

Bassist Evan Cranley said it makes sense that this influence can be heard in tracks like “Backlines.”

“It’s the music we grew up listening to, and we’re all very close in age, so we have a lot of similar influences,” he said.

It wasn’t just me who was reminded of an old school high school dance party listening to catchy synth tracks like “The Theory of Relativity.”

“It’s not something we revisit, but rather something we lived through. So it’s a natural thing for us to be influenced by that,” Cranley said.

Cranley said that Stars is the biggest band you’ve never heard of. While the band has known global success, they’re still not a household name.

“To tell you the truth, people that have been with us, have been around for a long time,” he said. “Rarely do I meet people who found out about us from The North.”

For the hard-core fans of the band, they’ll definitely be at the show in Kingston to hear the silky melodies of the new album, including “Do You Want to Die Together” and “Hold On To Love When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It.” “If you love this band, you’re going to hear the whole catalogue, and it’ll be the last time we play Kingston for a while,” Cranley said, as the band will be going on tour this summer.

Since the latest album came out in September of last year, Stars has been touring with it all over the country, only taking a break in January.

The band will be hitting a lot of university towns during this tour, and Cranley said it’s a great market for live music.

“People that age like to spend their money on shows. It can be really good, and people definitely have an expense to go out and listen to live music.”

Cranley said the process of touring is still smooth, even with a two-year-old now in the family.

“Oh yeah, the baby comes with us. My family’s always with me, and since Amy’s the mom, afraid she has no choice,” he said. “She loves to travel and loves everyone in the band — it’s like having nine weird uncles and aunts.”

The bassist said the other part of touring he enjoys the most is the time spent actually on stage.

“The best part is the two hours we get to spend at the show — everything else is just trying to find someplace to do your laundry and find the tastiest burrito in town.”

With an upcoming second trip to Coachella to share the stage with Tegan and Sara, it’s pretty obvious Stars has reserved a place in the hearts of the fans.

“It’s nice to have anonymity, but still be popular with people who love us — it’s the perfect marriage between having a life and having a career in music.”

Stars plays Sydenham Street United Church on Monday at 10 p.m.