On “One Day Left,” Canadian pop-rock group Stars tap into that very specific, deeply emotional moment between knowing something is over and saying goodbye. In the dreamy, already-nostalgic new single, premiering here with TIME, the indie band explore a feeling that will be familiar to anyone who’s had a powerful fling — or is ready to acknowledge that a relationship or experience has run its course. With shimmering, echoing synths and the evocative duet of singers Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan (also of Broken Social Scene), “One Day Left” illustrates the push and pull of a love not meant to last. “I’m tired of looking for a sign / I’m not yours and you’re not mine,” Millan warns. “It’s not the love it seems you’re seeking.” But there’s still something left to cling to.
“The last 12 hours you spend with someone you love might as well not exist,” Stars explains to TIME. “Goodbye hits like poison. You are in the hotel room. You know it’s almost over. You know it has to be. The city rages on outside. But in there lying next to them with all your clothes on and your bags packed, listening to them breathe, time stops. Why won’t the city have some heart and stop while you say goodbye?”
Stars — which is comprised of musicians Campbell, Millan, Evan Cranley, Chris McCarron, Patty McGee and Chris Seligman — released their eighth album, There Is No Love in Fluorescent Light, in 2017. They’re heading out on a summer and fall tour of North America next week, and “One Day Left” might just be the perfect song to tide people over as they experience the band, given the story it tells.
“This song is for everyone who has a f–ked up love affair this summer,” they explain. “It might not feel like it now, but…. one day you’ll sit in a bar somewhere alone and realize; the pain was worth it.” And, hopefully, the pleasure will have been worth it as well. Listen above.
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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com