When sifting through the hipster bands of late, Stellastarr* stands out among the competition. While bassist Amanda Tannen said they like to write and play "melody-driven pop songs," the musical integrity inherent in their work leads critics to describe them as art rock, new wave or noise pop.
Stellastarr* displays a style comparable to the Pixies, but theirs is especially reminiscent of tourmates, the Raveonettes.
"One of our favorite bands to tour with is the Raveonettes, because they're our friends, but also a band with whom we match musically," Tannen said.
On tracks like "In the Walls" and "Somewhere Across Forever," lead singer Shawn Christensen displays some vocal acrobatics in the vein of Robert Smith and Ian Curtis. Amid the catchy hooks by guitarist Michael Jurin, Stellastarr* can have a normally standstill audience bobbing their heads in mere seconds.
Though Monday's show at the Black Cat with the Killers was their fourth in D.C., this is the first time Stellastarr* is headlining the tour, which is very exciting prospect for Tannen. Stellastarr* is gigging heavily throughout the spring, culminating with a show on the first day of the Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif., which Tannen is anticipating.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the Pixies again, but also Radiohead and the Cure," Tannen said.
Hopefully, however, their future cross-continental journey won't create any bizarre memorable incidents like the last. Tannen recalled that while driving across the Arizona desert, a tire on their van burst. They managed to flag down a driver from whom they expected some aid.
"Instead of helping us, he tried to sell us some Valium," she recalled.
In addition to touring, Stellastarr*'s two music videos, for "In The Walls" and "My Coco," have garnered much attention for the band. Since three of the founding members of Stellastarr* met at the Pratt Institute for the Arts, they were able to cull from their like-minded artistic friends some creative video concepts.
"Both of our videos were directed by Peter McCoubrey, one of our friends from Pratt," Tannen said.
The band currently has no plans to record the next album anytime soon because they want to be sure to record their sophomore release in one big chunk of time, in order to make a more cohesive album compared to their debut, which was recorded in several places, according to Tannen.
Their fantastic onstage presence is no doubt added to by drummer Arthur Kremer's tradition of Duct-taping an asterisk over his right nipple and performing shirtless. In the days before Stellastarr* had a drumhead with the band's name, the members decided they needed something by which they could be identified onstage. Hopefully, given the band's recent (and deserved) publicity, perhaps Kremer can put the "no pain, no gain" motto to rest for good.
For more information on Stellastarr* and a listing of tour dates visit www.stellastarr.com and help Stellastarr* afford better tires and save on Duct tape.
