I first came across the Amsterdam based, “soft-grunge” quartet of Stella back at the end of 2019, when they shared a live version of their track, Satisfied. For fairly explanatory reasons, things perhaps haven’t quite kicked on as much as expected for the band since then, thankfully that is starting to change. Today the band are premiering the video for Kiss Me, their first studio-recorded single.

Kiss Me is a track that focuses on the feelings that come in the aftermath of an event. As Tosca from the band explains, “Kiss Me is about acceptance, and how difficult it can be to recognise your own mistakes. About letting go of a grudge and looking back on an ambiguous memory, and over time, being able to see the beauty in it as well”. Musically, the band cite the influence of Big Thief and No Doubt, and it shares a certain winning straight-talking quality with both those acts. Throughout the track, the rich, layered guitars and Tosca’s jaw-dropping vocal carry the melody atop the steady rumble of the rhythm section. Compared to Stella’s previous tracks, Kiss Me adds an alt-country flourish to their trademark grungy take on indie-pop, taking the band’s music into thrilling new territory.

The accompanying video was made with filmmaker Ab Al-Tamimi, in the forest of de Veluwe. Fortunately for the aesthetic of the video, if not for the somewhat frozen singer Tosca, it was filmed on the day it snowed: a “one day a year” occurrence by the band’s estimate. As Tosca recalls, “we spent hours filling the tub with our kettles, so against all the odds I didn’t die of hypothermia”. Let nobody tell you that people don’t take their art seriously these days! You can watch the video below, and keep an eye out for more material from Stella coming in the year ahead.

Kiss Me is out now. For more information on Stella visit https://www.facebook.com/Stellaiswho.