Despite my advancing years I’ve
always retained a passion for finding “new” bands, looking for that next
musical discovery that will blow my socks off and have me screaming their name
from the rooftops. However, it’s recently become increasingly difficult to find
a reliable source for said discoveries, so when I saw an ad for “So Young” new
music magazine on my Facebook feed, I hazarded a subscription in the hope that
this might be a suitable pipeline for me. Cover stars of my first issue were young
NYC combo Been Stellar; on checking out a few YouTube clips, I not only heard
some grungy/ shoegazey/ post-punk noise to dovetail nicely in with current
faves October Drift and Teenage Wrist, but also a shimmering swagger recalling
early 2000’s NYC bands such as early Strokes, Stellastarr* and particularly The
Stills. A real sense of history for their hometown’s musical DNA running
through their sound, then, so I picked up some early EPs (debut album not due
out until June, unfortunately) and a ticket for another Louie gig!
So, another economy drive down the M4 to stretch out the petrol, parking up at 7.30 and grabbing a drink and a brief chat with Bristol’s legendary Jeff, happily back on the gig trail after some health issues recently. Popped upstairs for openers Theo Bleak, on at 8. They were a Dundee 4-piece led, apparently, by Theo, a striking young woman with a distinctive high register, breathy yearning voice, augmenting her and her charges’ mid-paced, relaxing and occasionally dreamy Alvvays/ Belle And Sebastian-esque indie pop. The early comers channelled that vibe as well, given Theo’s mid-set comment of, “you’re so polite and quiet! It’s so relaxing in here – like ASMR…” The swayalong melancholy of “Raining All The Time” and closer, the high-pitched hook of “Homer”, were about the best of a pleasant if innocuous opening set.
I hovered down the front enjoying some Bunnymen chat with Madison and Yaz, a couple of gig goers of similar vintage to myself, down from Halesowen. Fair play to them! I kept my front row spot as the place filled up for the entrance of the 5-piece Been Stellar, dead on 9. Opener “Honesty” crept in on a taut and regimented Smashing Pumpkins/ Interpol vibe, vocalist Sam Slocum (any relation to Spanish Love Songs’ monolithic Dylan?) initially mumbling the chorus in a Cobain-esque drawl before switching to a more strident and yearning vocal style for the huge and startling choral hook, then “Passing Judgment” was all octopus-limbed off kilter drums courtesy of the excellent Laila Wayans and tense, agitated vocals from Sam, before the guitars joined the party in a cacophonous wall of sound. Yup, this rocks!
All about the NYC vibe they might be on record, but “live”, Been Stellar, like the aforementioned October Drift and Teenage Wrist, really crank up the volume with some positively 90’s Seattle grunge-like thundering riffery. No surprise them that Sam was rocking Alice In Chains’ vocalist, the late Layne Staley, on his tee tonight… The ridiculously catchy terrace chant of an almost funky “Manhattan Youth” got me throwing shapes from my front row spot; “Ohm” was a more haunting and contemplative number with a “Where Is My Mind” vibe, albeit overlaid with those heavy crunchy guitar riffs; and “All In One” was a careering, hurtling rollercoaster of a number, its’ stripped back and speedy drum backbeat ceding to some layered Sloan “I Am The Cancer”-like ascending harmonies before a breakneck hurtle of an outro. However, “Kids 1995” was the highlight of the night for me; an almost delicate Nada Surf-esque intro dropping into a haphazard tumble of drums and slashing guitar shards, before the absorbing Stills-like shimmering and soaring widescreen chorus really kicks you to the floor. Such a great song!
The elegiac yet towering closer “I
Have The Answer” built to a powerful, dramatic climax, fittingly rounding off a
strident and stunning hour’s set played with kinetic force and energy, leaving
me a bit of a sweaty mess at the end; well, the band left it all onstage
tonight, I could hardly do any less…! Grabbed my breath and a list, then popped
downstairs to get it signed by the band; chatted with all the lads (drummer
Laila being swamped by female fans) and found them an open and gregarious
bunch, underlining their reverence for the rock history of their adopted home
town, particularly guitarist and self-appointed rock historian Skylar, who
totally got my Stills comparison. Eventually bade farewell to them and my front
row companions before hitting the road for a similar economy drive home. I
definitely owe “So Young” one for this, hopefully the first of many
recommendations. So scream this one from the rooftops; Been Stellar were definitely
stellar tonight!
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