Canada’s Stars descend with more rousing warmth

The band Stars has been outshone of late by fellow Montreal group Arcade Fire, but no worries for the former, judging by its enticing performance Thursday at the Troubadour. If anything, the extra light being cast on the Canadian scene by Arcade Fire’s ascendance should only help bring deserved international attention to Stars as it showcases the strong material from its new “Set Yourself on Fire” album.

Unashamedly romantic, joyously poetic and willing to be even a bit corny in service of the songs -- singer Torquil Campbell threw roses to fans Thursday -- Stars shares more than just a hometown with the Arcadians. And with three albums under its belt, Stars can take some credit for drawing the blueprint. The male-female vocal counterpoint of Campbell and Amy Millan and occasional use of violin and trumpet also showed much kinship with Glasgow’s smart-pop combo Belle and Sebastian (must be something about those northern winters).

Campbell, sporting an ascot and sport coat, looked as if he should have been singing Sinatra songs in some saloon. Millan, with her tattoo and black hair, looked like she could have been fronting a punk band. But both performed with confidence and vulnerability, as if they were fraternal-twin love children of Morrissey and Jackie DeShannon, exploring themes, as Campbell put it onstage, of “creation, death, sex and robots.”

As with their top peers in a world of literate indie-pop, Stars, on this first of two nights at the Troubadour, showed a remarkable ability to make this deeply personal and warmly universal.