Been Stellar – Scream From New York, NY

Label: Dirty Hit
Released: 21st June 2024

Been Stellar are the 90s throwback we never knew we needed. ‘Scream From New York, NY’ takes everything that made the City That Never Sleeps such a hub of musical innovation and excitement, adds a large helping of modern-day anguish, and reanimates it into a living, breathing creation. Harnessing the frustrations of post-pandemic city life, the Empire State quintet embody what would happen if you combined Nirvana, The Strokes, and Slowdive. Grungy, riff-heavy garage rock blends with dreamy shoegaze melodies and a nonchalant vocal style to create an atmosphere that brings to life the thick, fuzzy New York City air the band have been breathing since their arrival in the Big Apple in 2017.

Opening track ‘Start Again’ is a visceral portrayal of NYC’s underbelly, a bold, brash beginning that beckons in a record full of depth. Journeying from the punkier ‘Passing Judgment’ into dream-pop single ‘Pumpkin’, before reaching the throbbing bassline of title-track ‘Scream From New York, NY’, Been Stellar find a well-struck balance between paying tribute to the music that raised them and forging their own path in an exciting indie scene. 

Switching genres on the same LP whilst trying to create one overarching theme is never an easy thing to do. Somehow, Been Stellar manage it effortlessly. Indie-sleaze love song ‘Sweet’ bleeds into the menacing start of ‘Can’t Look Away’, which then slinks into the aptly named ‘Shimmer’. The final track, ‘I Have the Answer’ is a rumbling retrospective which signs off the record in an understated yet confident manner. 

Full of verve and kinetic energy, this feels like a debut which gives the band room to breathe, letting them gauge their surroundings before fully loosening the shackles. A very exciting start from a very exciting band.