There are those, brave and barefaced, who stitch their sorrow into sleeves; who wear their darkness not as disguise, but declaration…that pain, once named, no longer owns you. These are the quiet rebels, the velvet-clad saints, who speak in sighs and walk through rain without flinching. They trade polish for presence, gloss for gravity. In a world too eager to paste on smiles, they dare instead to feel, to show, to be. And in that boldness, there is a strange kind of light.
Emerging from the southern landscapes of New Zealand, “Stars and the Underground” is an evocative collaboration between musicians John Mason of Winterland and John McDermott of The Headless Chickens. Their track “Lonely Black Hearts” serves as a poignant hymnal to the strength derived from self-expression and the enduring spirit of survival. Drawn from their forthcoming album Guardians of the Night, the song beats steady with resolve, a lifeline for those who find freedom in the shadow, who turn ache into art, and who – through pen, paint, drum, or distortion – carve light from the gloom.
Stars and the Underground conjure a dark synthwave and shoegaze sound that drifts like cathedral smoke and sways like twilight on the tide. Guitars chime and shimmer with celestial clarity, while basslines brood beneath, steady as sleepwalks. Vocals echo like lost prayers, half-whispered, half-resolved. Drawing from the same windswept well as The Church and The Mission, they summon atmosphere over aggression, beauty over bombast, mood over momentum.
Remixes by Elenor Rayner (Robots In Love) and Ant Banister (Sounds Like Winter, Sequential Zero) echo that message in new forms: one pulsing with digital warmth, the other ringing with crisp, deliberate defiance. Lonely Black Hearts is a banner raised high: a reminder that even in the deepest hours, beauty still blooms from the brave.
“Lonely Black Hearts is a song for who those whom wear their darkness proudly as a form of positive self expression and a force for inclusiveness and safety for all,” says the band. “…The honest truth is, our songs encourage you to look at the darkest of things and find beauty and peace and freedom of expression within them. They compel the listener to emerge with a greater sense of purpose and understanding of the events they communicate something about.”
The DIY video walks a quiet line: one lone figure moving through fields, hills, city nights; threaded with glimpses of the band in raw performance. No polish, no pretense. It mirrors the marrow of the song: that maybe salvation isn’t elsewhere, but ahead, one step at a time. No shortcuts. Just forward. Through.
Watch the video for “Lonely Black Hearts” below:
Listen to Lonely Black Hearts below and order the single here. You can also stream it on your choice of service here.
Stars and the Underground will appear live at Whammy Bar on the 5th of April in Auckland, New Zealand, to support Other Voices on their nationwide post-punk showcase tour.
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