The Bowery Presents: Been Stellar and Malice K

Scream from New York, NY, the first album by Been Stellar, is a remarkably brutal debut—bruised and volatile, it captures an image of ‘20s New York that’s unrelenting and harsh, where tenderness is a finite resource burned up by the machinery of the city and human connection is a luxury product. Leaving behind the driving shoegaze of their early recordings, the NYC-based five-piece band taps into the disaffected sound and spirit of New York luminaries like Sonic Youth and Interpol, as well as the nihilistic, yearning cool of Iceage and The Bends-era Radiohead, striking upon a sound that’s fearsome, buffeting, and beautiful at the same time—a tidal wave as viewed from underneath.

As its wry title implies, Scream from New York, NY is a record of what happens when language fails—between friends, partners, a city, and its citizens—and the primal scream you might let out when words don’t work anymore. Guitarist Skyler Knapp, vocalist Sam Slocum, Brazilian-born guitarist Nando Dale, bass player Nico Brunstein, and drummer Laila Wayans met as undergrads at NYU, bonding over a shared sense of humor and forming a motley crew based more on emotional compatibility than any rigid ideas of shared artistic sensibility. Finding the last vestiges of the city’s famed 2000s and 2010s DIY underground had been ground down to nothing, the band put on their shows, renting spaces and collaborating with friends to build the world they wanted to inhabit.

Determined to break new sonic ground, the band embarked on a relentless practice schedule, even renting scrappy studios on days off during the tour. After befriending him at SXSW, the band tapped producer Dan Carey (black midi, Wet Leg) to help coalesce the disparate elements of their sound that had been percolating: forceful, driving physicality; pop classicism; gnarled beauty, and a rich emotional core. The resulting 10-song album announces Been Stellar as gimlet-eyed chroniclers of contemporary youth, staring through noise and confusion into the dark heart of modern life. These songs embody the spirit of a city that makes and breaks its inhabitants daily—an irony befitting the album’s tone. Been Stellar’s preternatural ability to capture the disconnection that haunts New York with photorealist detail might be the thing that vaults them into its pantheon.

Malice K is an NYC-based artist whose songwriting is a mix of boyish charm juxtaposed with bruting, raw darkness and beautiful artistry. As a former member of Deathproof Inc., he has amassed a cult following as an atypical artist with a bi-polar nature, hopping from provocative punk-thrash-rock to lyrically melodic and acoustic. Emerging from the convergence of introspection and innovation, Malice K is a visionary musician who intricately weaves emotive narratives through his music. With a commitment to authenticity and an old-school ethos, his artistry illuminates the modern landscape. 

About his 2022 EP, Clean Up on Aisle Heaven, the FADER said, “Pivoting easily from an Elliott Smith croon to an Isaac Brock bark, Malice K pushes past the usual pop pleasantries. He shows a cool disdain for the vibe he’s encapsulated so effortlessly, but his structures are studiously rendered. It’s clear he’s a disciple of the genres he seemingly scoffs at, always taking the time to read the book before he throws it away.” His debut album is slated for 2024.