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January 3, 2007

New Stellastarr* - "Warchild"

After last spring's co-headlining tour with Editors, the boys and girl of Stellastarr* made a brief appearance to DJ the Movable Hype show at Spiegeltent before retreating quietly to Brooklyn, where they've been hard at work on album number three. But by way of New Year's gift, they offer up a demo of a tune slated for the Harmonies For The Haunted follow up, and we love gifts. From their Myspace blog:

Since we've been laying low and writing for the past few months, we figured we would bring in the new year with a song we demoed recently. It is tentatively tited 'warchild' and we will re-record it later in the year for our next record.

But for now, we thought it would be fun to throw something a little more bare bones up on the page. It's a rough recording, but we liked it that way.


[Pic from Spiegeltent]

It's another dose of stylish and catchy post-punk and sounds surprisingly well-realized for a demo (although the C section could use some more polish), and should hold you Stella fans over for a few. Stream it here, and if you like, make your way to see 'em road test the new next month.

Posted at 9:39 AM
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29 Comments

You need to fire your quality control supervisor ....Stellastarr ?
How about a new years' resolution to stop covering shitty bands

Posted by: rt at 01/03/07 10:31 AM  | Reply
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i think stellastar are pretty underrated actually. they never seemed to get the mainstream attention that they deserved. and they have been doing it for a while now, before the 80's thing was 'cool' again

Posted by: jack martin at 01/03/07 11:32 AM  | Reply
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first record was not bad, had 2 or 3 good tracks. 2nd record was terrible. looks like the 3rd will be as well.

Posted by: sarah at 01/03/07 11:43 AM  | Reply
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from a friend at rca:
"dropped them a while ago. didnt have any good songs. looks like they still don't. most here were surprised we signed them to begin with I think."

Posted by: sarah at 01/03/07 11:55 AM  | Reply
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I wish this band would fucking quit already.

Posted by: Steve at 01/03/07 12:00 PM  | Reply
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Kind of a new direction for them. I like it.

Posted by: Josh at 01/03/07 12:16 PM  | Reply
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What the hell? Why does everyone hate Stellastarr? It's good stuff. And record #2 was a nice improvement over the debut. It's better than 'Sam's Town' and I guarantee it will be 100x better than whatever shitstain the Bravery put out as a sophmore effort.

Posted by: Sean at 01/03/07 12:35 PM  | Reply
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It's so rude to leave out the *.

Posted by: Jack at 01/03/07 12:53 PM  | Reply
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Wow, they're better than The Killers and The Bravery. That's a tight cut to make. Bands also better than the aforementioned two:
the "Convoy" truck driving dude
Erasure
The French Kicks
coked out Eric Clapton
cocked out Scissor Sisters

Stellastarr* Sucks!

Posted by: 3RA1N1AC at 01/03/07 1:00 PM  | Reply
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this band has always been absolutely terrible. i just don't get it.

Posted by: roxanne at 01/03/07 1:12 PM  | Reply
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this band has always been completely heinous.

Posted by: roxanne at 01/03/07 1:13 PM  | Reply
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Something something interpol, something something joy division.

Posted by: JAck at 01/03/07 1:35 PM  | Reply
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who the heck is putting out this new record and what the hell are they smoking? as far as i can tell they dont have a record label anymore.

Posted by: sarah at 01/03/07 3:00 PM  | Reply
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rca is busy signing american idols..

Posted by: ricky at 01/03/07 5:00 PM  | Reply
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I drew the Killers/Bravery comparison because they're all typically lumped together in the same category. And are you trying to hate on Erasure? Seriously? Ridiculous.

Posted by: Sean at 01/03/07 5:38 PM  | Reply
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I like Stellastarr*...wouldn't think they're even significant enough to garner such hatred.

Posted by: Moses at 01/03/07 5:46 PM  | Reply
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Yeah, what gives with all the hatred to them? I'd have to agree - I thought they were under the radar enough to not grab this much negative attention. Loved the first two albums and looking forward to this as well (and to seeing them for a fourth time).

Posted by: Dan at 01/03/07 5:56 PM  | Reply
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Well when their manager thinks he's bigger than the group, it was a complete turnoff for those at the record label.

Posted by: Truthsayer at 01/03/07 7:18 PM  | Reply
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Definitely underrated. They don't have a "hook" so they go unnoticed. Very mature sound. Of course they're influenced by Joy Division but so are most of the heavier-sounding bands today. Looking forward to a new album.

Posted by: MrBartell1 at 01/03/07 10:00 PM  | Reply
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Did not expect this. Stellastarr* were probably the band I felt had the best chance of breaking up in 2007. Even though they had a very good sophomore album and one of my favourite songs ever in School Ya.

Ignore the haters, thanks for mentioning it.

Posted by: peck at 01/04/07 2:52 AM  | Reply
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I saw them on an opening slot before they released their first album at The Crocodile Cafe. I think they were also pimping an EP or something. I enjoyed their music. My co-worker who went with me started crushin' on their bass player.

Posted by: volume-addict at 01/04/07 3:14 AM  | Reply
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In response to truthsayer, Their manager (johnny kaps) was a laughing stock. Nobody takes him seriously. any chance the band had of making it, he ruined very quickly. that first record would have done twice what it ended up doing if they had decent management, and i have heard countless horror stories about him killing opportunities for the band. Countless meetings were had to try and figure out how to eliminate him.

Posted by: rcapromogal at 01/04/07 9:17 AM  | Reply
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Dont know much about their manager, but ive never been that big of a fan of RCA. Maybe its better they dont have a label. I loved their first album and greatly enjoyed the second. Will be interesting to see where they go with the new album. So far I like it.

Posted by: Sarah at 01/04/07 11:39 AM  | Reply
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why would you get personal and name the manager on a forum like this? i hope 'rcapromogal' doesn't necessarily mean you work for rca, cause that would be really unprofessional.

Posted by: ted at 01/04/07 12:05 PM  | Reply
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yes, RCA Promogal is correct. The manager was a joke, till this day people dont understand why the band keeps him around. He killed their career.

Posted by: Industry Person at 01/05/07 7:21 AM  | Reply
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yes, RCA Promogal is correct. The manager was a joke, till this day people dont understand why the band keeps him around. He killed their career.

Posted by: Industry Person at 01/05/07 7:22 AM  | Reply
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the bassist of stellastarr* and the singer of monsters are waiting on one stage, hottest chicks in indie rock...gonna try to go to all of the west coast dates.

Posted by: joel at 01/05/07 3:36 PM  | Reply
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I love this band. and I have for long time. I really don't think they sound like anybody else. There's all of these new new wave groups and honestly it all sucks. Besides one or two songs, I really don't think interpol is anything special. The Killers were a huge disappointment because they thought they were bigger than they were. Stellastarr* never says anything and they just keep making good music because they want to. wtf are YOU doing? I think a lot of people are put off by his voice because it's different. I think it's wonderful.

Posted by: Samantha at 02/23/08 2:38 PM  | Reply
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I sawStellastarr* at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle when The Killers opened up for them. They were excellent, and I've wondered where they've been ever since. I'm looking forward to hearing the third album!

Posted by: Mike at 04/12/09 11:48 AM  | Reply
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