Review / 200 Words Or Less
Stella Research Committee
A Proposed Method for Determining Sanding Fitness

Independent (2021) — T

Stella Research Committee – A Proposed Method for Determining Sanding Fitness cover artwork
Stella Research Committee – A Proposed Method for Determining Sanding Fitness — Independent, 2021

Labels like Amphetamine Reptile and Skin Graft Records and the “now wave” and noise rock avalanche they launched has served as an immense source of inspiration for a myriad of bands.

Listening to Stella Research Committee’s fifth LP, they do not only seem to be overly familiar with the output of the aforementioned label rosters, but have channelled those influences into their own brand of refreshingly chaotic, seemingly improvised noise rock, infused with rockabilly, synthesizer and electronic sounds, surf rock and the nuances that made bands like Sonic Youth appealing.

Killdozer, Dazzling Killmen, Suicide, Flying Luttenbachers and Scratch Acid come to mind with their more straight forward songs, while Dick Dale would have been proud of how the trio manages to effortlessly weave in spring reverb and rapid alternate picking characteristics.

Deliberately messy in their approach and with a nuanced, hypnotic nod to textured yet minimalist kraut rock, Stella Research Committee deviate from tried and teste and carve their own path of musical strangeness.

A primal noise assault that deconstructs, condenses sounds to their very essence that manages the keep up the tension of its delivery and listeners on their toes over the duration of the full length by forcefully meandering and trampling from crescendo to crescendo.

7.0 / 10 — T • July 20, 2021

Stella Research Committee – A Proposed Method for Determining Sanding Fitness cover artwork
Stella Research Committee – A Proposed Method for Determining Sanding Fitness — Independent, 2021

Recently-posted album reviews

Haywire 617

I Don't Wanna Say Goodbye
Roadrunner (2026)

How does one describe what differentiates a good hardcore band vs. something special within the space.It's really difficult to explain but Haywire 617 has proven to be something special.When boiled down to base elements Haywire is a hardcore band in the vein of something like latter day Blood For Blood (specifically their more Rock n' Roll/Oi elements with Rob singing). … Read more

super*user

Gutless Wonder
GC Records, Ideas Are Bulletproof Records (2026)

Detroit is famous for bands like the MC5 and The Stooges, White Stripes and of course KISS. Fellow Detroiters super*user may sound nothing like any of those bands but I would have thought it would take some KISS-sized balls to intentionally start your punk record with a riff ripped off from U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday”! Maybe that one’s unintentional but … Read more

Nick Soulsby

Born of Struggle, Living in Hope: The Anarcho-Punk Lives of the Centro Ibérico (1971-1983)
PM Press (2026)

Living in Hope , as the subtitle suggests, is a punk-centric history of the Centro Ibérico, an anarcho-punk squat at 421 Harrow Road. It is also the first book-length treatment of the space, which was at the crossroads of far-right fascist violence, police surveillance, housing disputes, and the punk scene. Founded in 1970 by Spanish Civil War veteran Miguel García … Read more