Been Stellar

Been Stellar is a five-piece band that formed in New York City in the late 2010s and absorbed as many local influences as they could, from Television to the Strokes. When the COVID-19 pandemic put a pause on music-making everywhere, they diversified their sound, earning them attention outside the five boroughs. Forming on campus at New York University, the roots of Been Stellar began in Detroit, where singer Sam Slocum and guitarist Skyler St. Marx attended high school together and first made music. The duo soon recruited their roommates (Brazilian-born guitarist Nando Dale, L.A.-raised bassist Nico Brunstein) and finalized their lineup with local drummer Laila Wayans. The quintet spent their early years gigging locally, steeping themselves in the rich lore of alt-rock bands trying to make it in America’s biggest metropolis. When COVID-19 shuttered countless venues and kept social gatherings to a minimum, Been Stellar were geared up to expand their sonic horizons after their debut effort, the well-streamed “Fear of Heights,” was released. Crunchy singles like 2021’s “Louis XIV” and “The Poets” soon gave way to a more urgent sound, influenced in equal measure by generations of upbeat British alternative rock and shoegaze. Their self-titled 2022 EP, released on the U.K. label So Young, turned heads thanks to urgent cuts like “My Honesty” and “Manhattan Youth.” A headlining tour of the U.K. followed, gaining the attention of Dirty Hit Records, which released their full-length album, Scream from New York, NY, in the summer of 2024. They joined labelmates the 1975 for a European tour. ~ Mike Duquette