Stella Luna - Stargazer

  by Jonjo McNeill

published: 10 / 3 / 2003

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Review

Is there room for a shoe gazing revival in early 2003? I wasn't convinced, but then along came Stella Luna to make me question that thought. Hushed, breathy vocals, HUGE guitars, supernatural synths and reverby drums prevail on this debut release from the Florida five-piece. With a name like Stella Luna you expect some cosmic elements to the music, but not since Spiritualized's seminal 'Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space' has a collection of songs felt as much like a journey through the stars. Opener 'Change' is a droney, trance like tune, but has a beautiful melody over the top. The guitars are reminiscent of Sonic Youth, while the vocals are somewhere between J Spaceman and Jim Reid. Some people make magic when they get together in a rehearsal room - that certainly appears to be the case here. The title track is the same in all but name to the opener; they almost sound like two parts of the same song. Not that that's a bad thing ! The simple lines that intertwine (© Spinal Tap) between the synths and the guitar create a true ethereal beauty. 'Antares' is a little more tune driven than the other tracks on offer, with a beautiful arpeggio guitar supplemented by a bubbling, watery synth, and 'A Bridge To Nowhere' actually picks up the pace a little. This is an excellent record. The only question I was asking was how would their sound translate to a long player? As an EP, it's nearly thirty minutes long. I don't think even I could listen to much more of this music without falling into a stoner-like trance. As an introduction to a band with one foot in the past and one in the future, this is superb. Perhaps a bit more variation for the LP though eh?

Track Listing:-

1 change
2 stargazer
3 antares
4 a bridge to nowhere