A wise man otherwise known as The Coral’s James Skelly once said “you’re only as good as your songs”. Thankfully for The Lathums, their debut album is one of refined brilliance and compelling optimism. Despite a year and a half of rescheduled shows and lockdown sessions, there has been very little that could stop Wigan’s finest in their tracks. From humble beginnings to recent recognition from the Rocketman himself, Alex Moore, Scott Concepcion, Johnny Cunliffe, and Ryan Durrans really have hit the ground running.
“That recognition was unbelievable! It was Paul Adam – the guy who signed us to Island Records – who told us,” Scott explains. “I think it was the CEO of Universal who got an email from Elton John, so the CEO told Paul and Paul told us. We gave him a round of applause when he told us!”
“That growth we had over lockdown is the most surreal thing I think. I think how much we grew over that time might have been more surreal than being in a global pandemic. I don’t understand how that could have even happened but the venues that we booked on the tour originally in comparison to the ones that we’re now doing is just a bit mental,” Scott adds.
From Sefton Park to NBHD Weekender, from Tramlines to TRNSMT, the lads are yet to embark on their headline tour to showcase how great their debut truly can be, and how beautifully composed it really is.
“Sefton Park was incredible,” says Scott. “I was a bit nervous to be honest – everyone else will tell you they weren’t nervous but I’m gonna be honest. We hadn’t done anything for 18 months and it was our biggest gig to date! So I was a little bit nervous but once you get on and you’re in the zone it’s ‘reyt. The vibe was amazing – you could tell there was so much pent-up energy that everyone had just been holding in over lockdown. It was a privilege.”
He adds, “It’s been great – I think now I’m more looking forward to our headline shows!
With a catalogue of shows yet to come, their debut is set to take each and every stage by storm—Victoria Warehouse, Barrowlands and Blackpool Tower to name but a few.
Delivering an album full of variety and ambition, their ‘un-pigeonhole-able’ aim has been well and truly fulfilled.
“We redid ‘The Great Escape’ because we recorded that in college with our teacher/musical mentor, John Kettle—he’s brilliant, he’s like a guru, we look up to him more than anyone as a band I’d say. When it came to the album, we wanted that tune to be on there because it’s like the one that got the ball rolling really. So, we redid it with James Skelly so it sounded like the rest of the album—it was the same with ‘Fight On’, we redid the guitar on that. Actually, the ‘Fight On’ that’s out now, the guitar on the intro is out of tune! It came on somewhere and I was like “God it is well out of tune that, how did that get past us!?”,” laughs Scott.
The beauty alongside the madness shines through on several of their more poignant new releases, with back stories that bring the tracks in touching distance of home.
“It was indeed Alex’s mother who inspired the title track. She’s lovely—l think she sees the best in everything. I wasn’t there so l don’t really know what went on but l think Alex said in an interview that she kept saying really nice things without meaning anything by it. So he just jotted them all down and made a nice few tunes from them. The world doesn’t need any more negativity – there’s no songs on the album that bring you down. I want people to feel like the songs are their own,” says Scott.
For Scott, it’s the closing melody that means the most, and as a stand-out track, the piano melody highlights their talent and vision as a group. Scott reveals how it came to be: “So it was just after the Bohemian Rhapsody film had come out and I went to the cinemas to watch it. I went into work the next day when l used to work at an Italian restaurant in Wigan and I was speaking to a lady called Sevina who didn’t speak much English at all. However I managed to get my point across that I wanted a piano, and it was near Christmas. She gave me £50 at the end of the shift and she told one of the chefs—she said get him to play the piano, get him a piano for Christmas. Then after I got said piano, I wrote that piece and I took it to Alex who put all the words to it. That was the first thing l ever wrote on a piano. Who’d have thought it ends up on our debut album? It’s definitely my favourite.”
Seemingly years ahead but with only one foot in the door, How Beautiful Life Can Be is a debut album of the highest calibre. Reflective of their optimism and promise, The Lathums incorporate both jangly Johnny Marr-esque guitar riffs alongside softly spoken reassurances.
And with another two albums already under their belts, the only way from here is up. Their final—and very much deserved—destination is quite possibly at the topper-most of the popper-most. However, Scott asks only one thing – please don’t buy Drake’s album this week…
The Lathums embark on their headline tour in Newcastle on the 29th September.
Words by Lauren Whitehead
Photo by Ewan Ogden
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