- Bryon Harris
Stellarscope - 'Only Strangers Now'
Stellarscope is a post-punk band out of Philadelphia. Their music has been featured in a multitude of venues including MTV, A&E, Discovery Channel, Alli Sports TV and more. Their song, “Only Strangers Now,” from their album, 'Standing in the Shadow of Your Ghost' is the perfect introduction to Stellarscope’s genre bending style.

Written by Tom Lugo, Bob Forma and Rob Deflaviss, the song kicks off with a rockin' drum beat that is soon followed by the entrance of a thick, distorted guitar progression and deep pulsing bass lines. Right from the start, “Only Strangers Now” gets your heart pumping with its high octane instrumentals. It is impossible to stay seated. The vocals enter, bleeding into the arrangement with a droning, spoken timbre that is placed well in the mix. Transitioning from the verse to the hook, the instrumentals change up, captivating listeners and keeping the flow of the song moving forward. Solos sharply rip into the mix adding great contrast to the pulsing texture. “Only Strangers Now” is all about the all too familiar end of a relationship in which one person says you "could still be friends," but what follows is a bunch of head-games, an inevitable shifting apart and ultimately becoming strangers. Lyrically, the song depicts raw angst and despair without holding back, "Damn I hate that you’re no longer mine. Now I’m contemplating suicide."
For another dose of Stellarscope, check out this video of "Hey You, Let's Go."
Stellarscope fuses rock, post-punk and neo-psychedelia all while maintaining strong melodic sensibilities for an exciting musical experience that will please underground niche audiences and invite new alt-audiences looking for something edgier and more direct than typical poetic, alt-rock. Stellarscope has found their forte in songs like “Only Strangers Now” that pulse to your core, rip solos out like metal on glass and deliver plenty of direct, raw angst to chew on. Their music as well as more information on the band is available on their website.