Been Stellar have announced their debut LP ‘Scream From New York, NY’ and shared its lead single ‘Passing Judgement’.
READ MORE: Been Stellar: New Yorkers writing their own chapter in their city’s storied guitar scene
The NYC five-piece – comprised of frontman Sam Slocum, guitarists Skyler Knapp and Nando Dale, bassist Nico Brunstein and drummer Laila Wayans – shared the first track from their debut LP today (February 29).
“Passing judgment without home/ Passing judgment without home/ Once I see how can I hear?/ If you hear, that’s how I know,” sings Slocum in the chorus over distorted, gritty guitars and a pounding drumbeat.
Speaking of the track in a press release, the band shared: “We were finishing ‘Passing Judgment’ in the midst of our first tour in the UK. Playing through it a bit differently each show, we were learning to look at the song from different angles.”
They continued: “The recording feels live because of this process — there’s a chaotic feeling in the drums and bass that wouldn’t be there if we hadn’t finished writing it live,” shares lead vocalist Sam Slocum, “Lyrically I was thinking about why we judge the world around us, and how passing judgment on someone or something is usually rooted in being unsure in oneself.”
Directed by Gabriel Long, the track’s accompanying video features the band performing the song in a posh restaurant while a restaurant guest looks uninterested and disconnected from her conversation.
Been Stellar have also announced their signing to independent label Dirty Hit (The 1975, Beabadoobee, Bleachers) and have shared ‘Scream From New York, NY’, their first full length offering from their new label home. The LP is set for release on June 14 and is available for pre-save/pre-order here.
Been Stellar – ‘Scream From New York, NY’ album artwork. Credit: PRESS
Been Stellar – ‘Scream From New York, NY’ tracklist is:
1. ‘Start Again’
2. ‘Passing Judgment’
3. ‘Pumpkin’
4. ‘Scream From New York, NY’
5. ‘Sweet’
6. ‘Can’t Look Away’
7. ‘Shimmer’
8. ‘Takedown’
9. ‘All In One’
10. ‘I Have The Answer’
The band’s previous release was 2022’s self-titled EP. In a four-star review of ‘Been Stellar’, NME shared: “Though they’ve managed to carve their own angle, the mystique and raw sense of youth that has so often defined the greats of NYC’s guitar greats cuts through the surface at all times here. In capturing this, it’s a release that proclaims them as one of their city’s brightest new hopes.”
The band are currently out on the road with The 1975, serving as opening support for them on the European leg of their ‘Still…At Their Very Best’ tour. They are also set to play a handful of live dates in the UK throughout the summer. Check out a full list of tour dates below and visit here for tickets.
Been Stellar 2024 EU and UK tour dates are:
FEBRUARY
26 – Lisbon, PT @ Sagres Campo Pequeno *
27 – Madrid, ES @ WiZink Center*
MARCH
1 – Paris, FR @ Le Zénith*
2 – Amsterdam, NE @ AFAS LIVE* SOLD OUT
3 – Brussels, BE @ Forest National*
5 – Hamburg, DE @ Barclays Arena*
7 – Oslo, NO @ Oslo Spektrum*
8 – Stockholm, SE @ Annexet*
10 – Copenhagen, DK @ KB Hallen* SOLD OUT
12 – Berlin, DE @ Mercedes-Benz Arena*
13 – Warsaw, PL @ Torwar Hall*
14 – Prague, CZ @ Fortuna Hall*
16 – Zurich, CH @ Hallenstadion Zurich*
18 – Munich, DE @ Zenith* SOLD OUT
19 – Milan, IT @ Mediolanum Forum*
21 – Frankfurt, DE @ Jahrhunderthalle* SOLD OUT
22 – Cologne, DE @ Palladium* SOLD OUT
24 – Amsterdam, NE @ AFAS Live* SOLD OUT
MAY
4 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees
15 – Joiners – Southampton, UK
16 – Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape
18 – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling
20 – The Louisiana – Bristol, UK
22 – YES (basement) – Manchester, UK
23 – The Lexington – London, UK
JULY
26 – Sheffield, UK @ Tramlines Fest
27 – Oxfordshire, UK @ Truck Fest
28 – Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
* With The 1975
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