Stellastarr* are gearing up to release their first album in four years this summer.
After parting ways with major label RCA, the band underwent a period of transition before deciding to start their own label to release the new album ‘Civilized’, frontman Shawn Christensen told NME.COM.
“We’ve been in a transition period from our old label to starting a new label,” the singer said. “We threw out most of the songs we’d written over the past year and decided to get more raw, back to basics. We incorporated more piano on the record than we used to, and we realised where our strengths were,” he added.
Christensen admitted that escaping the pressures of being signed to a major label was a mixed blessing. “It feels more liberating not having to answer to anyone,” he said. “But I found that I work better under pressure when you can’t take things more comfortably. That said, we wanted to have control over the way we were released.”
During the time between albums, Christensen said that the band have been rehearsing and “figuring out new directions.” Meanwhile, the singer has been dividing his time between New York and Los Angeles, where he recently sold two screenplays.
The band have just announced their first full US tour in three years, which kicks off July 15 in Philadelphia and concludes August 4 in Seattle, with an official record release show at New York’s Highline Ballroom on July 16.
The tour dates are:
Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s (July 15)
New York, NY Highline Ballroom – Record Release show (16)
Washington DC Rock N Roll Hotel (17)
Baltimore, MD Ottobar (18)
Cincinnati, OH 20th Century Theatre (20)
Columbus, OH Basement (21)
Chicago, IL Double Door (23)
Austin, TX Parish (27)
San Diego, CA Casbah (30)
Los Angeles, CA Troubadour (31)
San Francisco, CA Slim’s (August 1)
Portland, OR Doug Fir (3)
Seattle, WA Chop Suey (4)
–By our Los Angeles staff.