Name: The Lottery Winners
Hometown: Leigh, Lancashire
Download: Elizabeth
Bands hailing from the North West of England tend to be ones that forge music driven by an underlying sense of dour and a negative attitude. The Lottery Winners, however, have managed to break the Manchester mould. Never mind Lancashire, the four-piece’s hometown may as well be cloud nine – with their jangly guitar and head-bobbing melodies, the band brings a whole new meaning to the concept of pop music. The last few years have been ones in which the term ‘pop’ has become synonymous with ‘chart music’ (or ‘crap’) – but The Lottery Winners could well be at the frontline of a battle that would see the pop sounds of yesteryear reinstated at the forefront of the British music scene.
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The band have mainly focused upon finding a base to launch their pop-fuelled revolution from, touring extensively the local pubs and clubs, in addition to supporting the likes of The Charlatans and The Enemy. Having done their time in the North West, the band are set to take on the rest of the UK. With sturdy foundations in the form of 2013’s single Elizabeth, and last year’s Heavy Heart, it looks as though it could be any moment now that we see The Lottery Winners claiming a victory in the name of pop.
One factor that makes this lot stand out among the horde is the way in which they appeal on a number of different levels. The most blindingly obvious feature of the band is the energy and spirit at the core of their trademark jaunty melodies – but what is really clever is the subtle longing that resides within the lyrics. Had I heard only the guitar, bass and drums of any given song, and was asked to pick the lyrics, I would have chosen ones that mirror the cheer of the music. Vice versa, given the lyrics and no music would have seen me pick perhaps a Joy Division-esque backing. Who would have thought chalk and cheese would make for such splendid songs. Wistful words twinned with sunny sounds makes not just for a brilliant band, but real substance that could well be The Lottery Winners’ passport to success.
“The songs are the most important thing in the world to me,” remarks Thomas Rylance, frontman and lyricist of the band, “if they’re ever even a tiny fraction as important to other people, I’ll die a very happy man.”
With a pocketful of poetry, an album in the works and a big summer of music ahead of them, it looks as though The Lottery Winners might just win the jackpot in 2015.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YipUMmYH6O4&w=740&h=422]
Words by George Birch
@___georgebirch