A Grand Day Out With The Lathums
Credit: Sam Crowston
In roughly three short years, indie four-piece The Lathums have steadily marched their way into the limelight of the alternative stage and accrued a respectable following that is as intensely engaged as the band is talented. Back in August, the band demolished their first indoor gig for eighteen months at London’s OMEARA where they were hailed by an intimate and adoring crowd. Once the dust of the show had settled, I spent some time with the boys in a glamorous Holiday Inn Express cafe where we spoke about their absolutely massive debut album ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ as well as getting a peek into some of their hijinx.
“I want to come on stage by parachute on my birthday. I’ll be airdropped in.” Bassist Jonny Cunliffe insists as the band formulate surprises for their upcoming tour “We need T-Shirt cannons.” The strangest thing is, they could pull it off. Despite being no older than 21 with only a handful of experience under their belts, The Lathums perform with a confidence and control that comes with decades of performing. Not only this, their audience are as captivated and as passionate as loyal football fans supporting their team in a playoff spot.
However this didn’t come overnight, they told me, telling tales of cutting their teeth at pub gigs in the early days where the goal was just to make a lot of noise and avoid the drunken requests for Oasis and James as much as possible. Since then, their consistent output of singles during the last 18 months has seen their following expand massively and their venues upgraded consistently. In February 2020 they played their last Manchester gig to 250 people, now they’re returning in October to an expected crowd of 3500 at Victoria Warehouse.
Credit: Sam Crowston
At their OMEARA show, the energy of the audience gave the music a zeal that’s rarely seen in such nascent bands. At times, their fans effortlessly sang full songs unassisted. “Towards the end of the last tour, that was kind of getting to be the norm of it but last night was insane,” lead singer and songwriter Alex Moore told me, “We play the songs all the time, so it’s nice to give people their chance to take control of the song.” It’s this connection between the listener and the band that generates such electricity which has been translated directly into the album which is full of anthemic bangers.
Recorded throughout the first lockdown in an eerily empty Liverpool, the band’s first full length studio release is introspective and observant with a surprising maturity and raw honesty. It’s almost hard to believe that a large portion of the music was written before the band even had a member over the age of twenty. What’s more, it’s incredibly fun. With every measure of heartfelt sentiment, there’s equal character and charm that screams youthfulness. “We just tried to find the best songs that express us in the best way,” Alex explained, with the songs being written from as early as their college days and as recently as in the studio while recording the album.
Throughout the record there seems to be optimism for a better future and a call to action for peace. The titular track sees the world through a delightful lens, like a longing for a simpler life. ‘The Great Escape’ hears the band cry “Love bombs fall from the sky, can we give love a try?” But this isn’t an attempt to start a movement, says Alex, “It’s just how I felt at the time. I wouldn’t say I’m a ‘give peace a chance kind of guy’, but I would like it if people were nicer to each other.” It’s this simple and effective messaging that gives the album its remarkable accessibility that’s drawn such diverse crowds to their live shows. Whether you’re singing their songs like football chants and thrashing in a push pit or appreciating them with a gentle sway and a singalong, there’s room for you in The Lathums’ audience.
Credit: Sam Crowston
The band tried to define the breadth of their audience, because it certainly isn’t just bucket hats in their crowds. “There’s always that thing where it can be embarrassing to like a certain band or go to a certain place, but with us, we don’t care and I think it’s just everyone’s comfortable to be who they wanna be when they come to our gigs,” Alex explained before drummer Ryan Durrans summed it up nicely, “we don’t have a target audience.”
They haven’t pigeon holed themselves by trying to appeal to one audience and instead they just make music they like. It helps that their influences are so eclectic. Lead guitarist Scott Contepcion says he dabbles in Britpop which would explain the number of Johnny Marr-esque riffs and solos that are peppered throughout the record. Ryan and Jonny go in for something heavier like Nirvana and Led Zeppelin which is apparent in the driving rhythm on tracks like ‘I See Your Ghost’, that simply do not fail to get crowds thrashing. Jonny’s ongoing Country phase with the likes of The Charlie Daniels Band has yet to work its magic in a song but who knows what the future holds?
Perhaps the strangest musical influence is Alex’s, because he doesn’t have any. “I personally try to keep it as real as possible.” He explained, saying it could be that he’s subconsciously trying to avoid any plagiarism by not listening to any other artists.
Credit: Sam Crowston
The album was almost named after its goliath closing track ‘The Redemption of Sonic Beauty’, an ode to the universal appeal of music as a piano ballad. Scott explained that like many of their songs, this name came like lightning in a bottle, “I was doing the piano in the conservatory. We were working on it and I went off and when I came back it was in my head.” The song is an arena ready tune, akin to grand-scale classic rock that showcases the prowess of every band member and came as easily as a sudden thought while making a brew.
“Fucking hell, yeah, I forgot about these,” Alex laughed while the band counted back through the origins of their songs all the way to ‘Oh My Love’, written while they were playing in college. They assured me that the hardest part of making their album was picking which songs to keep to ensure there’s a range of tones on the record. ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ achieves exactly that, leaving us constantly believing The Lathums have played every card in their hand before they pull another ace in the hole.
With a fistful of songs left off the album, we can only hope that it won’t be long before even more irresistible tunes are being fed to us by The Lathums, a band I’m publicly declaring to be the best thing to come out of Wigan since George Formby Jr (With thankfully far less ukulele). Check out their monolithic debut album ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ or catch them live at one of their headline tour dates this autumn and see for yourself exactly how much fun these four lads are having while making excellent music.