Sterling Press impress with 'Very Fun Times'
"In these tough times you have to swallow your pride and go out on a limb to get people to listen."
(Sterling Press)
Londoners, Ed Higgins (guitar, vocals), Greg Smith (guitar, vocals), Marlon Reynier (bass, vocals) and Lucien Ismael (drums) have just released one helluva debut single. 'Very Fun Times' is a 90s tinted 21st century stormer that has hit the ground sprinting.
They've earned their dues playing London’s sticky floored grassroots circuit under different guises, for some time now. In 2020 they became Sterling Press. Boosting their alt-rock sound with a newfound appreciation for punk, ska, techno and experimentation raised their game. “We had the artistic freedom of a new band - we didn't have to sound like anything or fit a criteria.” (Greg)
The pandemic changed everything so they put their energy into writing and recording new songs. "Fontaines D.C. were rehearsing next door when we recorded this track and having someone like that around created a great atmosphere for the whole process, it really got us motivated.” (Ed).
The result of their endeavours is an arsenal of new material. This first release, 'Very Fun Times', is a Blur-ry but sharp commentary that feels festival ready; An empathetic expression of growing pains, people pleasing - yet still having fun. “It’s about someone trying to fit in. They haven’t yet discovered what they like so instead, they follow the same trends as everyone else to feel good about themselves. They come off as one thing but get paranoid about not fitting in, so they slot themselves into whatever gap they can find. They’ll say anything to please anyone.” Lucien
Horny rock-steady beatpop, anyone? This is party pop perfect, especially as Summer 2021 is looking a bit more positive this week. The world is overdue much funshine so it's no surprise that people are falling for this rousing antidote to our recent ennui - love the saucy sounding reprise!
Sterling Press wove into TheZineUK’s radar last year. We caught them at a (packed) show just before the old world ended. They have an infectiously engaging attitude that matches the single. With good karma radiating, they have literally jumped through hoops to be heard. The hard work is paying off.
I wondered...
"Very Fun Times, your first release arrives in history's most surreal time ever, but that's a positive thing, right?"
Marlon: “Yes it has dropped in a very weird time. Although we missed out on all the traditional methods of promoting a single (i.e. gigging), we have had to adapt and use other ways to get the song in front of as many people as possible.
We have basically used guerilla marketing to get anyone and everyone listening. Like I sold some clothes on depop and put a note in the package telling them to follow our instagram and gave them a sticker. We have also been on omegle chatting to random people to get them listening.
In these tough times you have to swallow your pride and go out on a limb to get people to listen. We aren’t banking on success just coming to us out of nowhere, we know we have to put the work in to get anywhere and we are very prepared to do that. We want to get our band and our music in front of as many new people as possible, we have no control over if they like it but do have the ability to get anyone to listen to it.”
Sterling Press put the hours in, they got impressive results out. For instance (as this wonder woman is a vein of our music movement story)…
…how did you come to the attention of the whirlwind (music) industry that is Abbie McCarthy?
Marlon: “As most bands do, we put it up on BBC introducing, not really thinking we were gonna get anything from it, a day later we were track of the week which was very class. It happened on the first day of the new band so was a quality start and we’ve been really lucky with the support from Abbie and everyone at Radio Kent since then!”
"all the makings of a proper indie classic.
Fun lyrics, a super catchy melody and horns. Love it!”
Abbie McCarthy "(BBC Music Intro Kent Record Of The Week)
'Very Fun Times' already sounds like it's gonna lift this year, what are the fun times you can't wait to have again one day?
“Our tune “Very Fun Times” is certainly lifting our 2021. We are buzzing with the reception so far. We plan on releasing a lot more music and building up our fan base so we can tour as soon as possible.
Also can’t wait to tour with a horn section - would be a great aspect to our live shows. We really wanna make every gig a spectacle for the fans, something new and exciting every time!”
With a reputation for high-octane live sets, we can't wait for Sterling Press to tour, either. ‘Very Fun Times’ is living up to it’s name. Alongside BBC Introducing, it’s on This Feeling's Best New Band playlist and has been played by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6Music. The band have been interviewed by Peggy From Earth on Boogaloo Radio and have picked up wide praise from various other music media.