Photograph by Pete Newcomb
For a too-brief period in the early 1990s, a genre of Anglo rock was breaking in the United States, with bands like Lush, Ride and Catherine Wheel collectively cracking the playlists of the still-emerging alternative-rock radio format. While a few of the acts went on to become much-cited influences on future groups—My Bloody Valentine being the greatest example—others were sent into the great dollar-bin in the sky, à la the beautiful Pale Saints.
While some American groups, like the sublime Majesty Crush, picked up on the sound, it was in many senses a blip on the alt-rock radar screen. One, for that matter, that registered much more in Britain than America. And to hear about a Midwestern group today willingly accepting the mantle of shoegazing is a rare thing, indeed.
St. Louis' underrated Stella Mora is just such a group.
Laura Sisul, the band's primary lead vocalist and someone who wasn't even in her teens when the above-mentioned groups were recording, says that her songwriting partner, Greg Braun, was the clear impetus for the group's formation and sound. But she's the one to offer up the brilliant shorthand version of the formation of the group—Sisul, guitarist/ songwriter Braun, bassist/vocalist/songwriter Syrhea Conaway and keyboardist and theremin player Dave Burnett.
"Greg was a huge fan of '90s shoegaze," says Sisul. "So was Dave. They go back to high school, listening to this music. Greg decided to start up a shoegaze band. He put up demos on MySpace and started playing with friends. Syrhea auditioned around the time the two of us were starting up a friendship. Her audition went well, and they went looking for another female vocalist who could play an instrument."
Sensing an opportunity in late 2006 to finally join her first band, Sisul jumped at the opportunity and won the spot. Admittedly, she had to immerse herself a bit more deeply in the original source material, but found herself in the group spiritually when she mentioned being a fan of MBV's Loveless, arguably the Rosetta Stone of shoegaze.
The blissful yet crunchy My Bloody Valentine is the one band that Braun says every member of the group enjoys, though he says that they also share an enthusiasm for bands like the Velvet Underground (the then) and Asobi Seksu (the now).
That influence definitely comes across when seeing the group live. As does the "shoegazing" tag itself, copped from the original British groups' tendency for performances that were more inward-looking than aggressively audience-grabbing. Onstage, Stella Mora brings that same in-control feel to the live setting, though you won't hear the band's members claiming the same.
The fact that people have reacted to Stella Mora's sound isn't something they assumed would occur at the outset. Sisul and Braun note groups such as Troubadour Dali, Tone Rodent and the Ocean Rivals as local acts that share some of the same sensibilities. And while the band's found some luck and interest locally, they realize that fans of their sound are going to be scattered far and wide. Chicago is one city they've started to tap. The East Coast, where they'd surely find an audience, might be a bit too ambitious now, especially as the group works through a Spinal Tap–like run of losing drummers, while also trying to record a debut album. (At press time, the album's working title was Pardon Conversation, release date TBA, while a new drummer, Shae Moseley, had just joined the ranks.)
"Playing live is the heart of what drives me to do music at all," Braun admits. "When you're playing, you're using the instruments. When recording, it's like doing math … I definitely prefer getting in someone's face, bending a note until it's just ridiculous."
To sample some Stella Mora music, visit myspace.com/stellamora.
