Peterborough post-rock band Lonesome have recently released 'Inure', the second part of a trilogy that follows on from the 'To Myself, From Myself' EP, and preceding a third release being recorded later this year with a view to being released in 2022. Specialising in emotive, ambient music with waves of rolling intensity and force, Lonesome will appeal to anybody who are into the likes of Mogwai, Tortoise and other post-rock outfits. The guys took some time to answer a few questions about the band, their influences, the releases so far and playing and filming in a church!
Lonesome are Jay Bass (Vocals), Will Cooper (Guitar / Keyboards), Paddy Healey (Guitar / Piano), Joel Mason (Guitar), Chris Roberts (Bass) and Scott Campbell (Drums)
The 'To Myself, From Myself' EP (2019) and singles 'In The Heart You Have', 'To Myself, From Myself' (live from All Saints Church, Sawtry) and 'Inure' are available on all the major digital sites.
Hi Guys, thanks for taking some time out to answer a few questions. First off, for those readers who might not be familiar with Lonesome, could you give a short history of the band?
No problem, thanks for taking the time to interview us! So, Lonesome was formed in 2019 as part of a rebrand from our previous band That Night Forests Grew (TNFG). Before Lonesome we were firmly rooted in the Melodic Hardcore genre but, organically, we had been moving to a more Post-Rock sound and, with this shift, we decided a rebrand would be best. We were joined by Chris on bass who used to tour manage for us back in the TNFG days; replacing our previous bassist who moved to Canada. Since forming Lonesome we have had a few lineup changes, with our previous drummer (Ben), stepping down to pursue his career and Jay stepping down from playing guitar to solely concentrate on vocals. Respectively we have been joined by two of the nicest dudes and best musicians we could hope for, in Scott and Joel. Scott had played in a band called The Perfect Crime with Chris so it was a no-brainer to get him in. Joel was previously in Lonely The Brave and has known each of us for a while now either through childhood friendships, gigging together or from his time working at a local music shop.
And who would you say were the main influences on Lonesome?
Will: The usual Post-Rock culprits: Caspian, Sigur Rós, Mogwai. I am also into bands such as Touché Amoré, Pianos Become The Teeth and even artists such as Aurora and Jonsi. As you go through our influences, you’ll see that we are a melting-pot of genres.
Jay: My main influences vary. If you asked me what got me into music it would be bands like Busted, Mcfly, Sum41 and Blink 182 when I was younger, but like everything you grow up and things change. I remember doing work experience in a music shop and one of the lads there showing me Alexisonfire; they blew my mind. That’s when I would say I got into more alternative music. Today I’m inspired by the likes of Sleeptoken because of their passion and belief through their music and how they captivate the audience.
Joel: For myself I have been raised on 70’s classic rock like Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, Free etc. As I got more into guitar into my early teens I started playing a lot more 80’s and 90’s rock/ metal and eventually went into playing some heavy and death metal - so Black Dahlia Murder, Sylosis, Caliban and KSE. I’ll always have those in my playlists, but now I have American Football, Owen, The Hotelier, Jimmy Eat World amongst others that I will always love. Frightened Rabbit, Manchester Orchestra and M83, Holly Humberstone, Pinback are some others that I have been spinning lately too that have inspired me on a different writing approach.
Paddy: I used to listen to a lot of metal so bands like Trivium and As Blood Runs Black really influenced my playing early on. After I went to college and studied music my taste really broadened hearing of artists like John Mayer and Dirty Loops. More recently I listen to a lot of ambient music, bands like If These Trees Could Talk and This Will Destroy You got me into post-rock.
Chris: This is a difficult question because everyone has different music tastes in the band. I grew up on bands such as Pink Floyd and Queen. When I hit my teens I listened to the Epitaph and Fat Wreck type of bands such as NoFx, Bad Religion, Strung Out, No Use For a Name and Descendents. Nowadays I listen to anything with good groove and melody. Bands such as Tides of Man, MiserySignals, American Football and Counterparts. I think everything I listen to and learn has some bearing on what and how I play.
Scott: Growing up I was always a bit of a metal head. Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Metallica were influential early on. I then moved into more heavy music listening to the likes of Dimmu Borgir, Nile, Slayer, Lamb Of God, Killswitch Engage and Arch Enemy. More recently I have been influenced by bands with a more progressive sound such as Deftones, Northlane and Devil Sold His Soul. Saying that I have always been a fan of Keane and Snow Patrol also, mainly for the hooks and atmospheric sound they create so well.
You've recently released 'Inure' - a new single - which is part 2 of a trilogy of releases started by the 'To Myself, From Myself' album released in 2019. Could you tell us something a little about the concept behind the trilogy?
The trilogy has been written so that when each release is played back-to-back it creates one piece of music. The trilogy carries the overarching theme of ambiguity. We don’t want to give away too much yet, but the trilogy has no definitive order in which the releases can be played. The lyrics can be portrayed in many different ways, the chronology of certain lyrical ideas can also be messed with when changing the sequencing of the trilogy. The idea is that the listener can listen to the full trilogy and come away with a different outlook each time.
And do you have a date for when the third and final part of the trilogy will be released?
We wrote the third part of the trilogy during the first UK lockdown. We would usually write remotely and then bring it into the practice room to work on together, this time however we wrote via Skype, routing the audio from Logic through it so that we could all listen in while we wrote parts and sections. It truly was an awesome experience and 100% is the way we’re going to write from now on. We’re currently putting the finishing touches to the lyrics and vocals. We start tracking soon.
'Inure' comes with a video made by Jay Bass. How do you know Jay and have you worked with him before?
Jay is our vocalist. He’s done every music video and live session for us so far. It’s been really cool to watch him grow as a videographer. The music video for 'Inure' is some of his best work and it really shows.
There are six tracks on 'To Myself, From Myself' - do you have any favourites and if so why?
Will: My favourite would be 'Remember'. I just love the flow that track has. The section at the end is my favourite part to play live, it truly explodes.
Jay: My favourite track would have to be 'From Myself', I believe it’s the most uplifting yet heart breaking song on the record. I love that it’s a complete rollercoaster of emotions and sums up the journey TMFM takes you on.
Joel: I like 'Be Strong' because it’s instant and powerful. The lyrics resonate with everyone in some way or another.
Paddy: 'To Myself' is my favourite track on the EP. It's full of dense melodic layers and is topped off with a powerful vocal section at the end.
Chris: Also, My favourite track is 'Be Strong'. I think this track embodies everything that Lonesome are, heavy, ethereal, quick but with moments of quiet before an anthemic ending.
Scott: My favourite track is 'In The Heart You Have', the huge guitars on the kick just make me smile every time we play it.
You also recorded 'To Myself, From Myself' as a live event at All Saints Church in Sawtry - how was that to do and do you have any other 'unconventional' places you'd like to put an event on at? That was a very stressful day, but also super fun. The session was engineered and producer by Will and the filming was done by Jay. I would like to hire some extra hands next time along with Ben Cotton, who also worked on the project, that’s for sure! We had two run throughs of the set that day and on the second run through Will’s string broke on 'In The Heart You Have'. If we were unsure of which take to use that definitely made our mind up! We’re always trying to find the next weird place for us to film a live session. We did a piano session at Hinchingbrooke House which was awesome. It is this massive stately home that was owned by Richard Cromwell (Oliver Cromwell’s son). It is now owned by the school Will works at so we had a bit of luck in making that happen! In terms of other unconventional places, we’d love to do a show/session at Peterborough Cathedral or somewhere in nature. A volcano in Iceland would be awesome or a cave!
Talking of playing live, do you have any shows lined up for people to come and catch you?
We have some things in the pipeline in terms of shows and tours but nothing we’re ready to post out yet, so keep your eyes peeled. The last few shows we’ve played recently have been great. We and the people coming to the shows have felt really safe - which is very important. We’re hoping to see people at these shows!
Is there a good band scene currently in and around the Peterborough area? Are there any bands from the area that you'd particularly recommend to readers?
There is a really good local scene here especially within the DIY punk scene! If you’re ever in Peterborough and into punk head down to 'The Ostrich'. In terms of bands to recommend Sages of the Subway for sure. They’re good friends of ours and write some absolute foot tappers.
And finally, what plans for Lonesome for the rest of 2021 and beyond?
For 2021 the goal is to start tracking the third part of the trilogy and get a few bits sorted behind the scenes; if some shows come along too that would be great, but that’s looking more like a 2022 thing now. We have some really cool relationships forming with other bands, labels etc. that will lead to cool things.