Been Stellar blissfully emerge onto the Academy 3 stage to the gentle elegance of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Here She Comes Now’ immediately announcing them as a part of the New York musical lineage, a preoccupation that has been clouding many emerging bands in the wake of so called ‘Indie Sleaze’. Been Stellar are a five-piece formed out of the dorms of NYU committed to playing guitar music in a time where some have argued rock and roll is dead. Whilst the days of decadent nights at the CBGBs and Max’s are certainly long gone, the bands swagger and style immediately present a sense of that spirit and energy. The band’s attire of leather jackets and greasy jeans certainly call to mind the decrepit indie charm of earlier NYC groups like The Strokes and The Walkmen. Whether or not these bunch of upstarts were something new or merely a rehash of the past remained to be seen.
Been Stellar are loud and unabashedly huge which is somewhat commendable in the era of spoken vocals on the price of bread and Conservative politicians. ‘Passing Judgement’, one of the lead singles on their album Screams from NY, begins with incendiary drums and wailing guitars as lead singer Sam Slocum croons his way through a solid hook filled indie hit. Whilst gaining the majority of their underground success on this side of the pond, Been Stellar are uniquely American which is certainly refreshing in my eyes and arguably where they shine the brightest is delivering almost shoe gaze worthy fields of noise with vocals cutting through the tempest. Further tracks like ‘Start Again’ jumpstart the energy with drums urging on the screeching guitar lines and Slocum’s tales of New York. They stand in direct opposition to the scene that has embraced them owing more to the grunge and noise of American alternative acts than the sparseness of the current wave of British independent music. Despite the bombast of their sound, there is a level of melody and harmony with richly evocative guitar lines at times calling to mind the tenderly beautiful guitar lines of Interpol’s Daniel Kessler imbuing the bands set with a certain poignancy.
In particular, commendation has to go to their rip-roaring rendition of earlier single ‘Manhattan Youth’. The performance’s funk and vivacity call to mind an unsung New York great The Rapture combining that groups’ snarling and very danceable indie with a grunginess that is the groups own. It’s unfortunate that this has to be seen as a moment of difference in a decidedly one note show with the bands songs too often devolving into the huge soundscapes of noise in place of enough genuinely great songs.
Have the group escaped the shadows of their influences proving there is indeed something new coming from the often backwards looking ‘rock’ scene? It’s hard to tell. Their vast sound seems to owe more to grunge greats than their more rhythmic New York ancestors. There are moments of greatness with their powerfully crushing use of texture and melody yet at times the group feels it has more to give than that with moments of nuance seemingly flashes in the pan. Whilst it’s difficult to see Been Stellar as pushing forward the future of rock and roll, they are certainly no pastiche of the past with enough individual identity of their own. A solid live act with enough good songs and spirited performance to place the night as an enjoyable one of solid rock and roll.
A few words must be given to the support Cardinals who were excellent and certainly ones to watch for the future. Hailing from Cork, they create an emotive and passionate sound fuelled by a unique and hugely evocative accordion, the band play like the house band of a James Joyce novel with all the beauty and emotion that comparison entails. Euan Manning’s impassioned pleas meld perfectly with the emotive guitar lines creating an almost apocalyptic sound. A band that absolutely must be on your radar.
