Due to their success, larger record labels such as Decca/Universal Music Classics began taking an interest in the piscine troupe. Subsequently, their first major label album – eponymously-titled The Hot Sardines – was released on the Decca/Universal label in October 2014. This 2014 self-titled album contained both jazz classics and original Sardines' compositions and reached number 12 on the Billboard charts in August 2015, as well as went to No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz charts in the U.S. and U.K. It remained in the top 10 on the Billboard Jazz Chart for more than a year. Meanwhile, the band continued their frequent pilgrimages to Joe's Pub, Shanghai Mermaid, and Midsummer Night Swing. They became virtual regulars, if not inmates, at André Balazs' posh Top of the Standard.
