The Press

The indie rock quartet the Press originated in Boston and shifted base to Atlanta during 2005. Vocal responsibilities rotate among members while instruments change with nearly every song, allowing the group to fuse conventional pop and rock structures with their own art rock leanings. Initial releases—the Noxious Saucy Beast EP and The Red Comes Ringin' 7"—were captured at Shangri-La Studios in Atlanta. After the facility shut down shortly afterward, engineer Will Loftin reluctantly loaned equipment so the band could lay down drum tracks on 2" tape inside a friend’s living room; the musicians then headed to New York to finish the recordings. Once settled in the city, Milk and the Times That Never Were emerged from several months of late-night sessions held in apartments. Eager to distinguish themselves from the swelling ranks of Brooklyn indie acts, the Press began performing locally in outlandish homemade costumes that included loin cloths, brightly colored mummy wraps, face paint, and cardboard boxes. The strategy worked: following a 2007 show, Goodnight Records signed the group and issued their third EP that September.