Been Stellar - Scream From New York, NY

From the get-go, Been Stellar have made it clear that they are here to rock the boat. Their self-titled EP was met with critical acclaim, and only a handful of bands can say they’ve supported the likes of shame, Fontaines DC, and The 1975 without doing so much as releasing their debut album. Now, the release of ‘Scream From New York, NY’ proves that the NYC-based band are more than just a fleeting fad. The album is captivating from the get-go, with the eerie, haunting bassline and resounding drums that open ‘Start Again’ setting the scene for the 10-song frenzy that awaits. Vocalist Sam Slocum repeatedly pleads over a roar of guitars, drums and bass: “New York is wasted, start again” until the song reaches a deafening crescendo. A similar build-up and release takes place on ‘Passing Judgment’, a driving post-punk number where the pressure builds in its choruses like pistons, only for it to be unleashed through sprawling, fiery instrumentals. 

Like New York, the album is a melting pot of influences, with relentless, furious tracks such as ‘All In One’ or ‘Passing Judgment’ contrasting with the rueful ‘90s-inspired dream pop found in ‘Pumpkin’ or ‘Takedown’. But despite its multiplicity, a common thread ties ‘Scream From New York, NY’ together: its busy instrumentals invite you to lose yourself as if you were wandering through the very streets that inspired the record. ‘Scream From New York, NY’, is at once a chronicle of the harsh, unrelenting mechanics of New York but also an ode to the emotion and human connection that exists below the city’s cold, uncaring surface. The album will chew you up, spit you out, and disorient you, and once you’re back out, withdrawals from the pandemonium will make you want to do it all over again.