Stealing Signs The Coast

About 'The Coast'

"'The Coast' is about that situation we all find ourselves in from time-to-time – fundamentally disagreeing with someone who you have to spend time with, be it a family member, a friend of a friend, a co-worker. It muses on the things that you'd really like to say to that person, knowing that you can't and never will." Nick Acton, vocals, Stealing Signs 

We've all been there. And increasingly so in these polarised times. Indeed, having to suppress what really should be said to an infuriating companion so vexed Essex quartet Stealing Signs that they found relief by expressing their frustration through song. Resulting single 'The Coast' serves as a highly relevant take on today's culture of contrariness, yet, rather like keeping a sunny demeanour as a row simmers, it's set to radiant pop melodies with a joyous chorus. As lead singer Nick Acton put it: "Wrapping the bitter lyrics in an upbeat indie-pop tune felt like a contradictory and more interesting thing to do."

This playful approach certainly carries over to the accompanying video, shot and produced in DIY fashion by the band, as they enjoy soaking up some rays at a suspiciously immaculate seaside setting.

Written in Paris, where Stealing Signs gig regularly and penned several tracks for upcoming album Somewhere Between, 'The Coast' is generous with Acton's sunny vocal hooks and has a chorus so catchy that the listener will be humming it for life. It's all set to taut bass and burly rhythms, over which guitar lines alternate between the angular and the janglingly melodic. Inspired by the likes of Everything Everything, Local Natives and early Phoenix, Stealing Signs have here aced an infectious meld of art-pop and worldbeat and made it very much their own.  

About Stealing Signs

Although their acts of petty criminality in small-town Essex didn't land them a reputation as hardened gangsters, it did supply four tight friends with a name for their band. Stealing Signs were so-called for the act of doing just that, and so many roadside trophies once adorned their practice room that the whole place would reverberate with a metallic rattle. Fortunately for us, the band chose to focus on the vibes rather than the villainy and have enjoyed an upward trajectory ever since.  

Having initially built a healthy fanbase in their home county via their dynamic live shows, Nick Acton (vocals/guitar), Will Daly (drums), Steve Wheate (bass) and George Wood (lead guitar), took their cinematic indie to towns and cities across the UK, from Brighton to Manchester, as well as over the channel to Paris, a city in which Stealing Signs have amassed quite a following. Indeed, the City of Light has become such a home-from-home for the group that many of their songs were written in the French capital. Stealing Signs' stock quickly rose in the UK too as they became in-demand contributors to the soundtracks of primetime TV shows, including Queer Eye, Made in Chelsea and Catastrophe, while the four-piece have also served as show-stopping support acts for such artists as Nothing But Thieves, Bloc Party, Magistrates, Asylums – and even Ed Sheeran.

Stealing Signs are no strangers to the festival stage either, having graced the likes of LeeFest and Y Not, so it seems fitting that the band have trumped hundreds of other hopefuls to reach the final of the Pilton Stage Competition, to be held on 28 March, at which the winner will gain a slot at this year's Glastonbury festival itself. This would be another milestone for a band who are chalking up achievements at a rapid rate, not least the imminent release of debut album, Somewhere Between. To promote it, Stealing Signs will be hitting the road again – trust that they'll soon be playing at a venue near you as it would be criminal to miss these light-fingered lads before they're smashing it on the big stage.