Lanterns On The Lake
Newcastle upon Tyne five-piece Lanterns On The Lake have made a raft of announcements, including a new album, a new video and a tour, Getintothis’ Chris Flack has all news.
Newcastle upon Tyne five-piece Lanterns On The Lake have announced news of a brand new studio album, Spook The Herd, to be released in February on Bella Union.
Formed in 2007, Lanterns On The Lake released a slew of EPs before being signed to Bella Union and releasing their debut long-player in 2011, since then, their critically acclaimed work has left most commentators in awe of their output, gaining them fans from Drowned In Sound to Mojo, via DIY Magazine.
As well as releasing new music Lanterns In The Lake have released news of an extensive UK tour that sees a headline show at London’s EartH and a stop closer to home with a show in Manchester at the Deaf Institute, we have all the dates below.
We’ve also have a preview of their new track and video, a striking monochrome creation for the lead single from their album in the shape of Every Atom.
Lantern on the Lake’s vocalist Hazel Wilde says this about their new track:
“This is a song about grief and how your subconscious takes a long time to accept when someone is dead and gone forever, even when the rational side of you understands it. I put that idea into a story where the narrator is my subconscious searching for someone in this dream-like fictional world”
Living through something as difficult as the death of a loved one is something that has probably touched most of us, this song is an exploration of that shared experience from a very personal place.
In a world that seems to be spinning almost off its hinges; with protest, political upheaval, wars and all kinds of as yet undiscovered horrors that may or may not involve right-wing loons, many artists are enlivened by the world and find themselves trying to make sense of ever-shifting sands.
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Like many, Hazel Wilde is a songwriter emboldened to make politically charged material, new album Spook the Herd, the band’s fourth long-player, positions Wildes voice in a different place, worldly preoccupations rise in ways we haven’t seen previously.
Alongside this, the band have broken new ground on a record this direct and crucial, it is confrontational almost, a call to arms, a call to create movements that challenge and alter our shared realities.
Wilde dives headlong into the existential and societal crises of our times, Spook the Herd, in itself a statement, is a pointed comment at manipulative tactics of ideologues, of politicians and those who attempt to convert the world to meet their own needs.
Coming in at nine songs, the record looks at polarized politics, an everpresent and not always healthy dependence on social media; it looks at addiction, grief and the climate crisis which might just end us all before Trump does.
Wilde’s talent is in reading in between the lines and plumbing the depths of contemporary issues, in some attempt to make the unreal seem real.
The band have worked hard to capture this record as live as possible, it’s sound is one of dreamy-pop and post-rock smashed together on the rocks, listening to it feels like you’re sat by the fire while they play in the corner.
Paul Gregory, guitarist and producer, says of their new record, “There was a sense of release in terms of what kind of music we felt we could make. The idea of what kind of band you’re supposed to be really disappeared. It was great; you felt you could do whatever you like.”
In comparison to earlier work, this is a leaner Lanterns on the Lake, the record can sound stark at times and it works as a reflection of the times we live in, their sound has been pared back, it seems urgent and direct, mirroring Wilde’s political messages.
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Swimming Lessons was first teased as an in-progress idea on Instagram, it is a writhing, supple piece that finds Gregory’s arpeggiated guitar dovetail with Ketteringham’s drums and Wilde’s vocal.
Every Atom scratches as your subconscious with a robotic guitar and Secrets and Medicine weaves and loops through piano, celestial guitars and brass.
Spook the Herd was recorded in Distant City Studios in Yorkshire, a space new to the band and a choice taken to help them push at their comfort zone, Wilde admits: “We are a pretty insular band in how we work, and trusting other people enough to allow them to get involved is not always easy for us.”
Once recording began much of the bands’ hesitation was pushed to one side, by all accounts they flew through sessions, finishing in three weeks.
Wilde has been known for straying toward romanticism and this is still evident on this record, while it can be dark, it returns to the inescapable fact that all we have is each other.
It’s a hopeful record, one that focuses on cynicism and the dread that abounds.
Lanterns On The Lake 2020 UK tour dates:
2nd April – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
3rd April – Deaf Institute, Manchester
4th April – Newcastle – Boiler Shop
15th April – EartH, London
16th April – Patterns, Brighton
17th April – Phoenix, Exeter
18th April – Bodega, Nottingham
22nd April – Castle & Falcon, Birmingham
23rd April – Waterfront Studio, Norwich
24th April – Portland Arms, Cambridge
25th April – Thekla, Bristol
30th April – King Tuts, Glasgow
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