stargazer
The words say pretty much all of it. Stella Luna... Stargazer... you know this is going to lift you up, you just aren't sure which solar system you'll end up in. There's only four songs, and that's almost painful. When good things end too soon, it can hurt. "Stella!!" Yeah, thick echoes of Curve and My Bloody Valentine reverberate through the thick chords of melodic distortion, lush and heartbreaking - this is music you could drown in. This is dream pop that could lead to some of the most beautiful nightmares you've ever had. Like the thorns of roses, like the despair of desire, Stella Luna creates the shadows of all your smiles.

reviewed by: Marcel Feldmar for The Big Takeover

On their first release, the Stargazer EP, Stella Luna's lush, dream pop soundscape is taken from the pages of those who defined the genre ten years prior. It's experimental in sound and image, providing a sonic escape. Stargazer was captured entirely on analog to tape, leaving the band to soak the material into tube mics and vintage amplifiers for an ethereal debut. Bass lines gallop while guitars and percussion swirl on "A Bridge to Nowhere." Susan Hanson is a vocal angel on the autumnal sweep on "Change"; it's a cinematic daydream with icy cool keyboards and wispy melodies. Stella Luna design a breathtaking musical portrait on Stargazer. Longtime fans of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive will surely warm up to Stella Luna -- they're far too inviting to ignore.

reviewed by: MacKenzie Wilson for Allmusic

No one has bothered to tell Stella Luna that 1995 ended seven years ago. These guys are suspended, indefinitely, in the land of heavily distorted, swirling guitars, buried drum beats, and vocalists singing in a loud whisper, from some place far away from the recording studio. Stella Luna are [insert Ride or Curve comparison here].

The Stargazer EP is a wonderful foray into a time long past, of bands that stand completely still, while creating large walls of guitar fuzz, all the while looking very bored and disinterested. Stella Luna do it perfectly, and their songs actually sound good. This is EP is only four songs, but it clocks in at 27 minutes, so you get your money's worth. As a side note, Weezer's "green album" was only 29 minutes, and they charged full price for theirs!

I found Stargazer perfect for listening to while reading. The way the guitars buzz and plod in a friendly, predictable manner... there's something very inviting about it. The vocalists' voice is far enough away in the mix that it didn't get annoying, so the listener, while reading, pretty much gets sucked into the monotony of the record; the monotony is positive, though. Good stuff.

reviewed by: Daniel Mitchell for Ink 19

Stella Luna's label, Clairecords, proclaims themselves "the indie record label for the modern shoegaze set." Little more needs to be said. Stargazer is a half-hour EP that surely fits neatly within anyone's definition of shoegazer music. All four tracks bring us back to a time - slightly less than a decade ago - when cutting-edge music meant that that guitars were distorted and fuzzy, the vocalist was way, way off in the distance, and songs dragged on for an eternity.

The mood of the EP is set by the first track, "Change," which opens with a full minute of steady, tuneless white noise. Eventually the sounds mutate into a swirling wall of guitar distortion, complimented by slow, echoing drums and vocals that drift in and out of hearing range, never rising above the level of a half-whisper. While trying to listen to this EP intently can be frustrating at first - assuming you're conditioned to expected melodies and prominent vocals that never arrive - there is something very relaxing about Stella Luna's music. As soon as you stop trying to decipher the lyrics and simply let the sounds wash over you, everything falls into place. Personally, I found the music quite soothing when I was stuck in yet another Toronto rush hour traffic jam.

Stargazer is not for everyone. A full hour of the type of music found on the short EP could be monotonous, to say the least, and since I've heard nothing else from the band, I'm not sure how their music would translate to a full album. For anyone who is open to new sounds, and for anyone who has a fondness for shoegazer music in general, this is a rare and precious find in the year 2002.

reviewed by: Gary Smith for Delusions of Adequacy

When faced with an EP called Stargazer by a band called Stella Luna, presumptions are validated. Indeed, there could be nothing more accurate about either name (after all, calling it "Shoegazer" would be pushing it a little), but to file Stella Luna away amongst the My Bloody Valentine soundalikes of the day is to do a criminal injustice to Stargazer's layers upon layers of enchantingly dreamy pop. If this is a genre piece, it is a fine example of the genre, and if it's been done before, so be it – Stargazer bears a second look, and perhaps more.

Stargazer is not an album about to shatter any long-held stereotypes about space rock. The album cover is a deep crimson with bright blurry lights in the corner, as good as any metaphor for the sound of the songs within: dark, hazy, and only occasionally do points of light pierce through the obscurity of the surrounding din. You can't tell what is being sung or really who is playing what where – instead, you’re immersed in an ethereal mess of fuzzy vocals, muted drums, and walls of guitar distortion. "Change" bleeds seamlessly into the title track in a wash of somber, spaced-out noise, too slow to rock but not slow enough to be sadcore. A hint of industrial abrasiveness outlines everything, the dehumanized drone of Mogwai backgrounds and the desolation of Catherine Wheel, but from somewhere under the sheets of creaks and swerves and echoes, there is a touchingly human element fighting its way to the surface.

Nothing on Stargazer is precise, but Stella Luna immediately set a tone that doesn't demand tight, technical ability and doesn't suffer for lack of it. Everything is just a little bit out of sync — the drums are just a fraction of a second too slow, the vocals just a little too quiet, the changes in distortion effects not quite in time — and in its own light that approach works completely. In fact, the album's pitfalls occur mainly where we are left to concentrate on one sound for too long; either by comparison to the density elsewhere or due to the previously set standard of loose musicianship, the quieter, more focused parts of "Antares" actually sound like low points.

But on the whole, Stargazer delivers exactly what it attempts: 26 minutes of numbing, yet heartfelt pop, losing nothing by being buried in a big noisy mess. In the redolent chaos of this sound that is somehow controlled and surprisingly poignant, hints of beauty come to the fore and keep Stargazer interesting, just like those bright lights on the cover.

reviewed by: Daniel Levin Becker for Dusted Magazine

Stella Luna is a new band that possesses both depth and soul in their poignant yet melodic material. The first track, Change, draws the listener into a dark world where the vocals take a background to the heavy, shroudlike quality of the drums and guitar. From the beginning of the first song, to the ending of the last one, listening to Stella Luna is like waking in a dream world where everything is slightly blurred and fuzzy at the edges, and everywhere around is amazing sound.

Antares, the third track on the album begins with the whispering chant of vocals, and just when you get settled into another dreamlike song, smacks you in the face with a hard, HARSH guitar that jars the senses and takes the song to a higher level. Each song on the album blends into the next, so you are never left with a sense of emptiness in the silence that usually comes between songs.

Stella Luna's Stargazer is short, with only 4 songs, so it leaves you wanting more from this band. I can't wait to hear what they put out next.

reviewed by: Jamie Reynolds for FAC193

Noisy, loud, and sprawling guitar rock is really reaching its apex these days with some accomplished bands putting out fantastic records. Add another possibility to the pile, but closer to the top, please. Stella Luna's first release, "Stargazer" is a four song EP meant as a teaser for their full-length due later this year. Their sound is primarily space rock, with breathy male and female vocals teasing each other over the distortion-drenched guitars, meaty bass, extraterrestrial synths and echoed eerie drumming. This music is horribly affecting, stirring, and compelling. I once read an article that postulated on the idea that the goal of movie trailers was actually to make you not want to see the film in question. Therefore, if a trailer succeeds, you should want to stay away at all costs. If that's the goal of an EP like this one - to make me want to avoid the full-length - it fails miserably. If you resist, Stella Luna attacks you at your brain stem, attaching and living there for a time until you relent. 'Change' opens the EP quietly, building noise until the wall of sound floods the speakers, then haunts with the repeating chorus ("Funny how some things never change/chaaaange/chaaaange"). The melody then feeds right into the EP's title track, featuring swirls and wooshes of sound with Susan Hanson's faded vocals. On 'Antares', the synths are more prevalent, at least until the chorus, with a chiming guitar line that just kills. 'A Bridge to Nowhere', the EP's closer, is not as strong a song, as it strikes with its pure noise, but it adds some diversity to the overall composition. A fine debut from a promising band to expect greater things from.

reviewed by: Rob Devlin for Brainwashed

This four-song debut EP by the Florida band formerly known as Starbelly (Stella Luna changed their name from Starbelly last Autumn after finding out that several other U.S. bands had as well been going under the same moniker) is a precursor to an anticipated full-length due out on Claire Records sometime later in the year. And while the music on Stargazer instantly reminds me of My Bloody Valentine and like ilk, and even though their sound is not as diverse as similar sounding bands on the Claire roster, I'm still a sucker for overcharged, fuzzed out guitars and ethereal vocals. A dirty habit, I know.

The songs on Stargazer were recorded exclusively on vintage tube equipment -- mics, amps, and all. The result is a large, lush envelope of warm textures that blend seamlessly into one another, providing a single thread of blissed out musical consciousness that is perfect for early morning sunrises on the inbound train to Grand Central, sunsets while driving down Highway 101 alongside the Pacific Ocean, or take-offs and landings of any kind. Lyrics are obscured by clouds of guitar distortion; song titles fall away the moment the record starts up with its warm hum. What's important is the feeling -- that aural synergy that's universal in design but both personal and intimate in delivery. Stella Luna pulls it off in spades.

I realize I should be giving Stella Luna some deserved critical grief for sounding so similar to past bands who were principals in the shoegazer genre, and perhaps I'll save that critiquing for their full-length. But at the moment, Stargazer is a short enough slice of a much-welcomed pie that I can't complain about a recipe that still produces quality music when close attention is paid to the ingredients while I'm stuffing myself full of its sweet sounds. Bottom line: you've heard this done before, but Stella Luna makes it sound just as delicious.

reviewed by: Craig Young for earpollution.com

Great!. Great! Great! Here it is! Finally something that deserves the moniker: breaking out! Formerly known as Starbelly from Florida U.S., the group changed its name to Stella Luna due to the fact that several other bands were sharing the Starbelly name. Nothing could have been better for this band than to pop out of this anonymous situation, because while other bands may certainly share their name, that is clearly not the case with their incredible talent. With the focus on an atmospheric guitarist dimension, Stella Luna has released this incredible EP with four songs. Influenced by the guitar bands of the 80's and early 90's, such as Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine, Stella Luna are continuing their experimentation with guitars and sleepy sounds, in a constant and slow whirlwind of sounds and electronic samples. Susan Hanson, Devon Smith, Rhonda Roberts, Jennifer Sterling and Darin Fitzpatrick have produced a gorgeous collection of deep images. Change is the first track on this CD and the perfect opener of a non-dimensional trip, with a training guitar diving from outer space. Stargazer is the title track of this Stella Luna recording. This song could be considered a second part of the first track, introducing itself with two great leading riffs that, in some way, keep reminding the listener of the same atmosphere as in Change. As a third track, the Sci-Fi Antares offers nothing less than the first two songs. Its length (8 min.) turns it to a little suite of wildly-effected guitars held up by a structuring arpeggio. A Bridge to Nowhere closes this awesome EP, proposing the nearest forma-pop song of the whole work. The combination between the voice of Suzan Hanson and Devon Smith gives space to think about what could be elaborated, while, at the same time, the naive, intertwines of voices, which gives one sound and one atmosphere, within the multiplicity of sounds. It seems that Stella Luna shall be on tour while promoting this record, so try not to miss them if they hit your town, especially if you're into space exploring experiences.

reviewed by: Peter Tibet for Losing Today

Since My Bloody Valentine petered out, many like myself have searched high and low for an act that could again capture the universal sound of dopamine. I'm proud to say that with Stella Luna, my search has come to an end. The five-piece shoegazer band from Jacksonville, FL brilliantly carries the teary-eyed and drugged-up torch once carried by MBV, Slowdive, and even Pink Floyd on this four-song EP.

The title track moves like a trudge through a heavy storm, with repeated, defeating, percussive thunder clashes and high winds. But, as sad as the disc sounds at times, the final song refrains with the line, "Can you still be mine?" - both restoring hope for a lost love, and raising the question of whether it can continue. The disc is both magnificent and superb. The production level leaves much room for improvement, but hopefully the attention from this release will earn a better budget for the next one.

reviewed by: John Lankford for Tablet Magazine, Seattle

It's drony, it's shrouded in wet, echoing production, it's Stella Luna! Think of what Lush might have sounded like had they come into practice popping too many Valiums or perhaps a collaboration between Lycia and My Bloody Valentine and you got a rough idea of what Stella Luna is like. I say "rough" because I really only pretend to know what I'm talking about. But nevertheless, pay attention if the terms "shoegazer" or "dreampop" are either a) overused at this site or b) make you really happy inside.

This four song EP entitled Stargazer (which is really quite the opposite direction their musical gaze goes) is an apt little introduction to the band. Their music is very slow, quiet and tranquil, although heaped with cascades of reverb and distortion. Voices seem to echo from quiet little recesses just in between the guitar and percussion, hopefully making you slightly paranoid in the process. Unlike some other dreampop bands, Stella Luna does occasionally allow a moderate amount of bombast with their guitars. Otherwise this band might become too tranquil for their own good and lull even the most fussy infant to sleep.

The brevity of the album is most likely what will encourage fans of this sort of style to long for more. Stella Luna isn't necessarily the most amazing band to ever attempt playing with the reverb controls of the studio, but they do a fine enough job to warrant further inspection. Those who like a little noise in their ethereal moods may wish to check this out.

reviewed by: John Chedsey for Satan Stole My Teddybear