The Sterns

Boston based quintet The Sterns exemplify the knack for masterful song craft, strapping studio work ethic and a get-in-the-van-and-go DIY mentality. Sinners Stick Together released nationally on March 13, 2007 by Boston’s Omnirox Entertainment, showcases The Sterns' deft lyrical turn of phrase and sonic anglophilia, melding the best elements of The Kinks, The Clash, Belle and Sebastian and The Smiths. Sinners Stick Together is the ambitious follow up to 2005’s Say Goodbye to the Camera. This self-released debut brought critical accolades and a supporting slot with The Romantics, Nightmare of You, Hard-Fi and the English Beat, in addition to cracking the CMJ Top 200 album chart. The Sterns supported their album with a string of raucous live shows before returning to recording in December 2005. Co-produced by Richard Marr (whose credits include Sebadoh, Mary Timony and Gigolo Aunts) Sinners Stick Together expands their tongue-in-cheek world weary wit and shimmering anxious guitar pop to include idiosyncratic narratives and lush chamber-pop arrangements. The Sterns’ Chris Stern, Alex Stern, Michael Sixx, Emeen Zarookian and Andrew Sadoway all thought a lot about the current administration and its policies while working on their album. All Saints is a case in point, speaking to the Bush administration's disheartening state of affairs. "That is as close as we are going to get to an anti-war statement," explains Chris. "It is not our intention to get people marching in Washington, but it is a song and topic we are passionate about." Alex feels, “It is a song that laments death related to war, but it's ultimately open to interpretation, heady stuff for heady times”. The band is not averse to humor either, as evidenced on Supreme Girl, one of the many shimmering power pop numbers on Sinners Stick Together. "That's actually a love song written from the perspective of [Supreme Court one-time nominee and Dubya pal] Harriet Myers and George Bush," winks Alex. "She was obviously a bad nominee but I felt a certain amount of sympathy for her." Alex says, “We do our best to balance jangle pop with a punk rock ethos,” of the bands approach to live performance. The Sterns will support their sophomore effort with extensive touring across the U.S. while maintaining a vigorous writing and recording schedule. “We are one of a handful of bands that buck trends, deny gimmickry and refuse to pander,” says Chris. “We cull things from different eras and smack ‘em all together and I think it works.” Press: “Jangly pop guitar riffs and catchy throwback English-rock vocals fill their sophomore album, Sinners Stick Together but that doesn't mean the Sterns shy away from substance. "All Saints" exudes an anti-war sentiment and the still-whistling-it-hours-after-first-listen "Supreme Girl" is an imagined tongue-in-cheek rendezvous between Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers and George W. Bush.” – SPIN “Sinners Stick Together, the quintet's second album, is awash in bright and breezy pop music, and drenched in infectious, hook laden choruses, effervescent melodies, chirpy harmonies, and bouncy rhythms...A pop masterpiece whose music is as enticing as its themes are thought-provoking.” – All Music Guide “The album evokes a sense of the old and new, showcasing and innovative blend of music and influences. The high energy songs transcend the limitations of genre.” – The Aquarian “Boston takes its power pop seriously. So in a town where no Kinks or XTC reference goes unnoticed, it’s telling that The Sterns have quickly become the power-pop band to beat.” - Boston Phoenix “New England Quintet The Sterns have a knack for crafting shiny pop songs with layered guitar arrangements, swirling keyboards and well-placed horns. If you were to form a super group made up of members of Belle and Sebastian, The Smiths, and college rock staples like The Bogmen or Sloan you’d get something like this… The Sterns pull all the best elements of Brit pop both new and old together and boil them down to their brightest elements, and the result is an album of very catchy songs.” – Amplifier Magazine Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.