"Your New Favorite Band"

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Giliann Karon

Image courtesy of Been Stellar’s Bandcamp

Admit it. You love saying “I listened to them before they were cool.‰” Countless indie artists have disappeared into the mainstream, leaving underground music junkies to cling to old demos and unreleased tracks. Rock and Roll Night Club is my favorite Mac Demarco album because I truly do like the songs. However, I like the sense of moral superiority I feel when someone raves about Salad Days. Don‰’t get me wrong, that slaps too. But if you‰’re gonna throw yourself into the world of musically self-righteous hipsters, you better know your shit.

And then our indie god, who probably resembles Justin Vernon and Father John Misty, blessed us with Been Stellar. This Detroit five-piece sounds like the amalgamation of every band that used to play at the Black Cat, but now plays at the Anthem. I‰’m here so you can get them before they‰’re hot. They combine the breeziness of Surfer Blood with the delicious bass lines of The Orwells with The Strokes‰’ muffled breathy singing a la Comedown Machine. Their sounds are familiar enough for you to feel comfortable with, but innovative enough that it feels like something completely new.

So far, they have one album and one single. Their album Sells Out invites you to come with them as they establish their place in the indie music scene. They‰’re still finding their footing and working to establish their sound, but they do it with maturity and grace. Every song is different from the next, but it still feels balanced.

Their single comment on their Bandcamp reads “ALRIGHT NEVERMIND THIS ALBUM HAS REALLY GROWN ON ME, I LOVE EACH AND EVERY SONG ON THIS ALBUM, EVEN MOTHERBOARD WALTZ IS A CERTIFIED BANGER, CANT WAIT FOR MORE 9.5/10.‰” Little-known bands like this have a small but ferociously passionate group of followers. You know how some concerts pack an amount of people that‰’s borderline dangerous into some small venue with sticky floors and employees that sorta look like Post Malone? Been Stellar is one of them.

When you listen to them, you feel yourself at DC9 or Black Cat. Their songs capture the raw emotion of dancing among strangers you somehow feel a connection to. Been Stellar reduces this unadulterated emotion down to a four-minute song. It just draws you in because it feels familiar. Once they go on tour, you can be a part of it. Even better, you‰’ll get to brag to your friends about this “awesome new band you just saw‰” and how they “probably haven‰’t heard of them.‰Û