FLING were out in full force at London’s Thousand Island venue in Islington, putting their heavy stamp on alternative ‘wonky pop’.

Made up of Charles McSorley (lead vocals), Jack Winn (guitar), Jake Lees (bass), Billy Fielding (drums), and Sam Malynowsky (keyboards), FLING’s experimental pop had a lot to give at their London show.

Entering the small venue of Thousand Island in north London, we were met with the bluesy guitar riffs of support act, The Shantics. It was the piercing guitar melodies, tight drums patterns, and cutting bass lines that won us over; it’s safe to say the stage was too small for this band’s infectious energy. During ‘Hey Jack, You’re Late’ – a song about a porn star called Jack who is good but is…always late – the band’s chemistry was clear and the passion within their playing was prominent.

See the video for ‘Mind Pop’ by The Shantics here:

Having listened to Fling for quite some time, we’ve highly anticipated their live performance. Branding themselves as ‘wonky pop’ and always being unapologetically themselves, we were excited to see how this would be transferred to the stage, live.

Opening with ‘Looking Out My Window’, this five-piece outfit from Bradford gave us everything and more. Frantic drum patterns, kooky keyboard sounds, and titillating guitar solos fed through the speakers as lead singer Charles McSorley moved and grooved across the small stage. Smiling as they sung, laughing and sipping beers in-between songs, and protruding a passion for the sounds they were producing, we were watching five mates jamming out in their garage, rather than on stage – truly endearing.

They continued to blitz through ‘Annie’, ‘Banjo Billy’, and new single ‘Extra Special’ with ease and a constant uplifting energy. But it wasn’t until FLING played ‘That’s Nice’, a song that contains mostly the words ‘Oh baby, oooh that’s nice’, that the crowd and band really came alive, grooving along to the synth tones FLING were producing, it was a sight to behold.

FLING have been a band for nearly three years now, and only started releasing music in 2017.  Staying true to themselves, we cannot wait to see what the future holds for FLING.

See the video for FLING’s ‘Extra Special’ here: 

FLING’s new single ‘Je T’aime’ is out now, you can listen here.