More about: The Lathums

I used to be in a band you know. This isn’t about me but it’s worth saying. We were called Paragon City and I always thought that we would have the classic rockstar story. You know how it goes? Write some bangers, play some pubs, please the right people and skyrocket to stardom. Writing this from my shared office in Peckham, I can confirm that that didn’t happen, but it did for The Lathums, who’s debut album shot to number one and saw them playing festivals, supporting The Killers and selling out venues all over the country. So, with the new album From Nothing To A Little Bit More set for release tomorrow, the question is, can they continue on that same trajectory? 

Sad boy bangers is how I’m going to describe this album. The Lathums seem to have a bit of a knack for taking sad topics and turning them into something that asks for hands up and thrown shapes. The opening tune ‘Struggle’, despite having lyrics such as “I wake up without a small on my face, I notice the worlds turning but I’m stood still” makes the listener want to buy a beer, boogie and singalong. I like it a lot.

This is a pretty common theme throughout the album, even if that doesn’t become apparent right away on some songs. Leading single ‘Say My Name’ has emotional undertones, with the band revealing at the time of release that it was about communicating with a lost loved one. The same goes for the tune ‘Lucky Bean’ which is upbeat and happy but is about a past relationship now ended, with lyrics remaining in the present tense. They sound good and the words and meanings are grounded enough to be accessible. But how does it weigh up against the success of the first album?  

In an interview I did with The Lathums for Gigwise’s most recent print issue, lead singer Alex told me what he hopes people expect from the album. “It’s a strange one,” he said, “I don’t really want anyone to expect anything really, that’s the fun about it… I just hope that whatever people expect, it was wrong, you know what I mean?” 

I respect the fact that as a band with a proven formula, The Lathums want to evolve and give their audience something unpredictable with the second album. But unfortunately they don’t. I prefer the second album to the first, it’s more refined and the songs are better, but it’s not so vastly different from the first that it sounds completely unpredictable. If you took both and shuffled them like cards, folding them back into one another and released the two albums with a mixture of songs in both of them, no tracks would sound particularly out of place. 

This isn’t a criticism; in fact I think fans of The Lathums will be happy to hear that they haven’t deviated from that original sound too much. This is just a comment that there isn’t huge diversity when you compare the two records, and it’s more like the band are fine-tuning and improving a process that works for them. They are oiling a cog in a machine (do machine cogs need oil?), not changing that cog for a new one. This improvement from the first album is positive, but the longevity of the band is called into question if future projects continue on a similar path.  

Stop though! That’s reading too much into it. Sod the future and let’s focus on what we have now, and what we have now is a fantastic album. Alex’s song writing and lyricism are some of the best out there on the indie scene at the minute as tracks are laced with catchy choruses and relatable lyrics that inspire singalong. The music making up each track is tight and packed with energy. Listening to the record in full, I’m confident in saying that there isn’t a dud on there. ‘Sad Face Baby’ is anthemic, ‘I Know Pt 1’ is calm and rhythmic, ‘Turmoil’ is a heartstring tugger if ever you’re going to hear one. 

"From Nothing To A Little Bit More is packed with everything that you love about the band..."

The whole thing ends with an epic 8-minute-long tune ‘Undeserving’, which sounds ambitious for a band like The Lathums but it works. It’s weirdly reminiscent of ‘Mel Made Me Do It’ as when Stormzy released the 8-minute track, I was surprised at how engaged I was throughout despite there not being massive development in the beat or vocal structure. ‘Undeserving’ works in exactly the same way. The chord progression hardly changes throughout but this track is a narrative-driven-ballad which builds sonically but doesn’t go over the top and remains incredibly engaging throughout. 

Don’t fear fans of The Lathums, the band are not one album wonders. From Nothing To A Little Bit More is packed with everything that you love about the band and you’re going to enjoy listening to it. All in all, this is them perfecting what they were already good at and the only criticism I can put forward is that it maybe stays true to that original sound and formula a little bit too much. Overall though I enjoyed listening and would certainly recommend it. 

From Nothing To A Little Bit More is out on 3rd March

Grab your copy of the Gigwise print magazine here.

More about: The Lathums