For lead singer Ollie Taylor, their music is “an emotional outlet… it’s how I get through stuff, just sitting in a room and writing.”
Sat beside him is drummer Sam Martin and guitarist Louis Cox, armed for the interview with an Ikea zip-lock bag of vegan sausage rolls.
Sierpinski feel like a generational passing of the shoegaze and noise-rock torch. Their latest single ‘Blue Saloon’ thuds along dripping in Jesus and Mary Chain-esque reverb, keeping their wall-of-noise approach measured enough to never compromise the songwriting’s incredibly melodic touch.
They are days from playing a headline album launch show at The Wedgewood Rooms, celebrating their upcoming debut studio effort ‘The Greatest Hit’. As Taylor later joked onstage, this was the second album launch show they had billed at the Wedge - and the album was still not finished.
'The Greatest Hit' is an assured first step for the band. Favourites from their live sets have received the glossy attention they deserve, standing aside newcomers like opener 'Low Tide' which solidifies Sierpinski's ability to say just as much in the space between notes as the notes can themselves. Standouts 'HMS' and 'Critical Mass' project a joy and charisma representative of the whole album, turning abrasive guitars and punchy bass into a soft, dreamy backdrop for Taylor's captivating vocal melodies. Every note feels purposeful and discernible; a welcomed quality from a band with four guitarists.
Sierpinski originated as Taylor’s passion project, recording and producing everything himself initially. “We’ve tried to get away from the bedroom thing,” he explains.
“I wanted to get away from it just being me and more about everyone.” The ‘everyone’ became involved after Taylor moved back to Portsmouth to be a full-time dad. “I lost love for [music] and gave up completely,” until lockdown gave him the time to become immersed in writing again. Martin stepped in to replace Sierpinski’s original drummer, much the same for guitarist Cox, whose welcome to the band was about as warm as “hell, just get Louis in.”
“I lock myself in my room and I’ll be in there for hours and pop out with a song.” By the time Taylor makes it to the rehearsal room, the extent of his teaching skills are “it goes a little bit like that doesn’t it?”
Over a year and three different studios have gone into Sierpinski’s debut album as a unit, which is “a greatest hits album collectively for us.” “We weren’t happy and we made sure we were going to be,” says Martin. The band landed on doing the album remotely with Sheffield’s Tesla Studios. “They sent back a track of ours called ‘Cowboys’… it was like, Jesus, that’s what we need to do,” Taylor explains. “That is us.”
They all cordially worship their Paris show as Sierpinski’s most significant moment, reflecting on it like one might their wedding day. In fact, the only disruption to that rose-tinted experience was Brexit. “Jake, the bassist, went round everyone’s houses getting serial numbers, getting where everything was made,” in order to get a (rather costly) Carnet. Upon arriving at the dock, all they got was a measly “yeah, alright,” puffs Taylor.
(Sierpinski onstage at The Wedgewood Rooms. Photo: Harvey Gosling)
Their goals are refreshingly far from getting a record deal in a music industry that they see as deteriorating. “There’s so many obstacles to overcome,” Taylor seethes, particularly disheartened in the surge of backing tracks being used live. “That’s not for me,” says Taylor. “You want to see every note being played.”
Cox calls out superficial social media bands “only really doing it for a sense of notoriety.” “They don’t spend enough time thinking about the music… you can see that.”
The three, dressed like they’re auditioning for the role of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors, are always on the brink of a snide dig or an uproar of belly laughs. Sierpinski unquestionably prize friendship first before any songwriting, and their straying from the industry path makes them an endearing new band.
Listen to 'The Greatest Hit' released May 1st here.
