More about: Low Hummer

Every industry has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the music business particularly knocked. Venues closing their doors, touring made an impossibility and releases being rescheduled - all on top of the obvious strain on physical and mental health - did terrible things for many. One unexpected positive however, is that working artists have been left with more time and space to fulfil their artistic ambitions, something that Hull indie rock outfit Low Hummer told me all about. 

“The whole world has been on pause and thankfully we’ve been able to do something with that pause. Playing live was obviously irrelevant, there was nothing else to concentrate on; you can make the album you want to make” explained guitarist John Copley, who along with Dan Mawer (guitar, vocals, and lyrics), Jack Gallagher (bass) and Aimee Duncan (vocals, guitar) describe lockdown as giving them a sense of patience and freedom in their debut recording, Modern Tricks For Living, set for release in September on Leeds label Dance To The Radio. 

Despite a reputation in their native Hull for making “energetic and angry” music, taking their time in the recording process allowed the band to travel down new musical avenues and flesh out their sound, one noticeable example being the male/female vocal duties shared by Mawer and Duncan, which Mawer describes as being one of his favourite things about Low Hummer. 

Despite being the band's songwriter, Mawer insists there’s little to no delegation on the matter of who sings, describing it more as a natural process, open to group discussion and to whatever sounds best; though he jokingly mentions an instance in which his vocal duties were re-assigned to Duncan by producer Matt Peel (Menace Beach, Eagulls) as his apathetic lyrics sounded “too creepy” and required a female vocal to soften the edges.

This tension between the dual vocals produces some of the strongest moments on Modern Tricks for Living. For a music market that’s been inundated with post-punk bands over the past five years, co-vocalists set Low Hummer apart, providing a refreshing change of perspective, and a sound that echoes groups like Pixies, Sonic Youth or (stay with me on this one) The Human League.

The members of Low Hummer, who (aside from keyboardist Stephanie Hebdon) joined me on Zoom for a quick chat, all stem from Hull’s inclusive yet isolated music scene, of which they have been part of as individuals for some time. The threads by which the band have been pieced together remind me of those pinboards they have in detective thrillers, with strings linking members together after meeting one another at gigs, whilst putting on gigs and through performing at gigs. 

“It did initially feel a little bit like a social experiment” laughs Mawer when describing the decision to form a group from this community “But putting together the album has made us into a proper band. I’ve been in bands for 10 years and [this one] feels like a proper band.”

It’s a successful social experiment then, as Modern Tricks For Living is a thoroughly enjoyable listen: in one facet angsty, driven post-punk with choppy riffs, buzzing synth leads and strong hooks ('I Choose Live News', 'Tell You What'), and in another, dreamy keys and contemplative lyrics lead the record to sound quite pretty ('Never Enough', 'Human Behaviour'). 

Much of the album’s lyrics read like inner-monologues or diary observations blurted out loud, with a strong sense of disillusionment and apathy running through them, and I wonder whether that originated from Mawer personally, or if generational and regional factors played a part?

“I think at this stage it is just the way that I write. I always try and do a little bit of social commentary, without saying this is the right, or wrong, way," he tells me. 

It seems likely to be the former, as the band reveal that some pre-Covid songs were purposefully not taken into the recording process, due to too-stark themes of isolation. Hull, though, has “always been proud of its own isolation”, something Mawer has long been influenced by. Happily, now more than ever, he also feels as though Hull is becoming part of the conversation. 

At the time of writing, there’s a sense of optimism going forward not felt in a long time: more events are being arranged rather than postponed, and Blossoms have just headlined the first gig in a government-approved test to gain data about the spread of the virus in crowds. 

I wonder how Low Hummer, a band yet to really cut their teeth on the live circuit collectively felt about the proposed return to live music. “We're in a weird position where we didn’t get to perform as a band that many times and we’ve written an album without playing any songs live, and shaped it without playing them together, so there is a bit of nervousness if we can actually play any of these songs live” laughs Mawer.

Despite this, the band collectively add that they are raring to get the songs on the road when all is ready, with Mawer, now 30 and after years of being in and out of bands, still devoting himself to the Hull music scene as a whole (having arranged for Brighton post-punk outfit Squid to perform at The Adelphi club in May). “I feel I'm at an age where I can put everything into it that I possibly can" he concludes, "This is a time where I’m willing to play to nobody. Perhaps it took a pandemic to give you focus on what you want to do with your life.”

Modern Tricks For Living arrives in September via Dance to the Radio. Pre-order it here.

More about: Low Hummer