Stars vocalist Amy Millan will release her first solo album, "Honey From the Tombs," this week via Toronto-based label Arts & Crafts. The 12 songs were written between 1993 and 2000, predating her work with Stars and fellow Canadian indie rock favorite Broken Social Scene.

"Honey" is a departure from what fans have come to expect from the textured sounds of those bands. Instead, Millan explores folk and rural traditions in more of an Americana vein.

"Dan Whiteley and I would play together in a bluegrass band back in Toronto at the Lithuanian Bingo Hall -- I was 17 at the time, and they'd serve minors and let us play. I'd never really listened to folk-type music, but was just introduced to playing it through Dan," Millan says. "And from there, I started to discover Doc Watson, Bill Monroe and Gillian Welch. I was also really inspired by the production of the Johnny Cash recordings that Rick Rubin did and wanted this record to have that sort of feel."

Members of Broken Social Scene pitched in on a few tracks in between touring and recording. "They're my friends and they were happy to help," Millan says. "I needed an atmospheric euphoria that they could add to some of the tracks. The song 'Wayward and Parliament" was completely reinvented -- I wanted it to represent the wide variety of music I can make, too."