With a dreamy, summery soundscape, get lost in the dulcet tones of STIIR in their latest single Could Be Better.

North London trio STIIR faced many of the same setbacks that challenged much of the music industry over lockdown, including the inability to work together in person. But instead of letting this hinder their process, they’ve harnessed the built-up creativity from this period to bring their swaying new single Could Be Better. Feeling more inspired than ever, the temporary lull from earlier this year can almost be forgotten as the sweet sounds of Could Be Better wrap around your ears in a pleasing manner.

Blending together R&B influences with woozy indie lyricism, Could Be Better charms with its hazy, dreamlike charisma. You’ll feel all of your tensions melt away along to the falling guitars and sultry vocals, and as the blissful octave harmonies carry across laid-back percussion, you’ll almost find yourself transported to a tropical beachside if you close your eyes. Slowing down for a fuzzy ending, it almost detaches from the main body of the track as a sweet aftertaste that you will reminisce upon, even after the last note has finished ringing out.

Smitten by the heart-rending melodies, we spoke a bit more with STIIR to talk about how they used lockdown to boost their coming musical chapter.

What’s a motto you live by?

Live your life like a straight-to-DVD film.

If your sound had a colour, what colour would it be?

We cover a fair amount of different styles so pinning it down to one colour would be hard.

If you could set Could Be Better to a TV show or movie, what would it be the soundtrack for?

‘Rocky II’ because it would switch up the vibe of the film.

Did you find that lockdown boosted your inspiration?

Yes and no. At first it was difficult, as we obviously had to change our process and we couldn’t draw inspiration from each other. But after a while it ended up being a good thing, as writing by ourselves meant we were more introspective – especially on this song. They are much more personal lyrics than other songs we’ve put out before.

What has helped the band to keep going through lockdown?

Having more time to call people that we’re close to – it’s the kind of thing you don’t instinctively do but it made us realise how important your friends and family are.

You sing ‘I could be better’, what are some things you think you can improve upon?

Naming songs.

What would you choose for an alternative career path if you weren’t doing music?

Wedding planners. Nothing beats a wedding.

And finally, what does music mean to you?

It gives us the chance to express ourselves I guess. Having the chance to express yourself is always pretty good, but being able to do that with your best friends is even better.