These guys are one of the most underestimated screamo bands ever but Brittish bands generally have this in common. Mostly because the emo/screamo scene is not strong on the islands. I can’t think of any “major” skramz band (maybe Mesa Verde? but let’s be honest here - those guys are famous mostly because blog that was run by one of the members...).
First of all: singer is one of the best I’ve ever heard. Vocals can be really annoying in DIY screamo but this guy has something warm in his voice. He’s very ocasionally singing and when screaming he’s still significantly changing the tone and expression.
Second of all: the rest of the band is great too! Whole Contrasts sounds bit unsettled - some songs are straightforward and melodic, others almost mathcore-ish and very chaotic. But for example “The Unspeakable” with its complexity is similar to pg.99 or Majority rule style. I honestly cannot think of any other band similar to those two iconic groups. Plus the sound quality.
Third of all: I had possibility to see Stella Dawes live in Worcester so I have memories. Live performance was perfect and sounded exactly like from the Contrasts CD (which I bought).
Last and saddest of all: the band is not active anymore :/ Guys disbanded after they were not able to find new members to continue with. Except from Contrasts they had some another studio recorded songs available on webpages. Those are not active of course. One of those songs is available on youtube - check the link below.
...