Fontaines D.C., Been Stellar

media release: On June 21, New York’s Been Stellar released their highly anticipated debut album Scream from New York, NY out now via their new label home Dirty Hit. A remarkably brutal debut – bruised and volatile, it captures an image of ‘20s New York that’s unrelenting and harsh, where tenderness is a finite resource burned up by the machinery of the city and human connection is a luxury product. Leaving behind the driving shoegaze of their early recordings, the NYC-based five-piece tap into the disaffected sound and spirit of New York luminaries like Sonic Youth and Interpol, as well as the nihilistic, yearning cool of Iceage and Bends-era Radiohead, striking upon a sound that’s fearsome, buffeting and beautiful at the same time – a tidal wave as viewed from underneath. 

As its wry title implies, Scream from New York, NY, is a record about what happens when language fails – between friends, partners, a city and its citizens – and the primal scream you might let out when words just don’t work anymore.

On the album’s title track, vocalist Sam Slocum shares “This song’s roots date back three or four years. It feels like we’ve grown up adjacent to that opening bass line—like it’s always been there with us. When you have a song for so long it can take someone on the outside to reframe it,and that’s exactly what Dan did for us. The lyrics were originally based on a poem Sky wrote during the very early days of the pandemic in New York. We put the finishing touches on the lyrics right before I recorded the vocals—Sky and I pacing around outside the studio finishing each line together. In many ways this song serves as the album’s noisy yet calming centerpiece.”

Preceding the album release, Been Stellar shared a handful of standout singles including the white-knuckled and cutting “Sweet,” the ferocious late-album highlight “All In One,” the masterfully dynamic “Pumpkin,” and head turning lead single "Passing Judgment." 

Been Stellar spent the spring on a major European tour supporting The 1975, followed by their own sold out headlining UK tour which included stops at The Great Escape and London Calling. They’ll return to the states for their Lollapalooza debut, ahead of their North American tour supporting Fontaines D.C. before returning to the UK and Europe for an extensive headline run.

Purchase the album on vinyl, CD and cassette from Dirty Hit HERE.