White light, white heat

Move over the Strokes and all those other cool New York New Wavers, and make way for bright new art-school things Stellastarr*. ALEXIA LOUNDRAS reports



Shawn Christensen, the front man of New York's finest export since The Strokes, the new-wave four-piece Stellastarr*, never thought of music as a career thing.

This is a common enough admission by new bands. It usually precedes a speech about how they had always dreamed of recording an album but never imagined they would get the chance. Except that as the 25-year-old art-school graduate continues, it becomes clear that he's not trying to be modest.

"It seemed more realistic to me to be a movie star - do some nice co-starring roles or something like that - than to be in a band," he says.

Although blessed with the same elfin good looks as the young Hollywood star Josh Hartnett, not to mention a mesmerising stage presence, Christensen only managed a few commercials. The actor-cum-singer-cum-artist has had to rely on selling his paintings to pay the rent. Until now.

Stellastarr* have just released their eponymous debut album: a moody, sexy slice of surging art-pop. Graced with New Order-esque basslines and deep melodic undertones reminiscent of The Cure, Stellastarr* is shot through with tension and sophisticated cool.

Even the weaving vocal harmonies seem intent on seduction as Christensen's feral yelp and bassist Amanda Tannen's cut-glass voice brush teasingly past each other. Fusing together influences as diverse as Bob Dylan and New Order with live-wire rock, Stellastarr* stand out from New York City's grainy, monochrome musical landscape like a comet in a blackout.

It's no wonder the band wowed music industry executives from both sides of the Atlantic when they played at last year's Austin-based South By South West festival. Film's loss is music's gain - even if Christensen is a somewhat reluctant recruit to rock.

Sinking into his seat in the bar of his hotel, Christensen thoughtfully stirs his tea. "Making music just didn't seem fun," says Christensen.

Christensen's disillusionment stems from his first experience in a band, gained while studying painting and illustration at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute. Armed only with a few guitar chords from a Dylan song book, he joined a band with graphic design students Tannen and Arthur Kremer. Kremer had spent just six weeks behind his drum kit and the only four strings Tannen had ever played were on her cello. The band quickly dissolved.

Fast-forward a few years. Motivated by the need for another creative outlet (and after persuasion from Kremer), Christensen agreed to form a band with his two art-school pals. But on condition that they recruited a "great" guitarist. Enter Michael Jurin. The Stellastarr* line-up was complete. "I can't believe it was so easy," he laughs. "Once we realised that we were good enough to make our livings out of music, we had to put our all into it," says Tannen.

Stellastarr* possess a sky's-the-limit philosophy (teamed with ferocious ambition) usually reserved for precociously talented stage-school tykes. But Christensen denies his band are particularly gifted.

"Pursuing dreams - getting what you want - is more about enthusiasm and drive than talent. There are millions of talented people out there, but do they have the nerve to go out and do something about it?" asks Christensen defensively.

"People are made up of their imperfections - their flaws. That's where a lot of style lies - it's in what you can't do. For example, there are a zillion things I can't do when it comes to singing. A lot of what you hear is just me not being able to reach a note, so I have to alter my voice. It's all about imperfections and how you deal with them." Determined not to be constrained by this, Stellastarr* shine with unbridled passion.

"I like to shake things up a bit," confesses Christensen. "To scream or whatever it takes to keep the music alive."

"I like to remember how I felt when I first heard Dylan, Bowie, Simon and Garfunkel, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, and inject that into our music."

Modesty again eludes Christensen, "Stellastarr* were born from spontaneous combustion!"

* Stellastarr*'s debut album is released on February 9.