LUNGS interview: A band can have no weak links

Image: LUNGS

Newly formed post-punk band LUNGS make their headline bow at Manchester's Night & Day Cafe this month.

"We eat like cannibals, fuck you I want some more" is the opening gambit on their track 'Rosie Shades', but it's Tom Hammersly's thrillingly distinct vocal splayed over an ethereal rock soundscape that really strikes home. 

This blueprint complete with melodic bursts alludes to a captivating sound. They've dropped five impressionable songs so far, the most recent being 'Seagulls' that pans the trajectory of a comet (listen below).  

It's not surprising that they've got the components to stride on with this anthemic sound - their line up features long-time Courteeners bassist Mark Cuppello, Tom Hammersly and James Feltham of former Liverpool collective Bicycle Thieves and Daniel Donohue bolstering the core on drums. 

Ahead of their headline bow in Manchester, Ben Smith posed a few questions to Tom about their formation, sonic desires and what lies ahead for the band in post-Brexit Britain.    

Does Night & Day Cafe in Manchester hold any significance as to why it was chosen to make your headline debut? 

Night & Day has been a special venue for each of us for years, and we played our first ever show there in January, having been preparing a full set for a few months. That first show is a true test of opinion and reaction to show your hand with nowhere to hide. It went really well and we got people’s attention and it was packed out and we all got really into it. Great venue and want to do it again.

What’s the story of Lungs, is this a resurrected project or completely new?

New, the rest of the band joke that my favourite song is whatever is newest, more of a compulsion than chore and it helps keep it interesting. We have all known each other for years but this line-up is new. A band can have no weak links and we all trust each other to do our part.

What were some of the desires, sonically, behind the material you’ve released so far? 

I bought a drum machine and demoed a collection of songs. You get this swirling repetition with reverby guitars and can create a cool groove. We have a human metronome as a drummer so we have been conscious to recreate that. Heavy but melodic on the guitars with space. Light and dark a sound of contrast.

We’re massive fans of your lead vocal, do you feel a big vocal presence is imperative to grab radio airplay these days?    

As vocalist, a resounding yes. I guess it is necessary to grab people’s attention. I think drums and vocals are the lynchpins of a lot of great pop.

Are you hooking in support for the show yourselves, if so who, and what vibe do you aim to capture?

Yeah, we’ve been in speaking to some great bands from Manchester and further afield, we don’t want to give too much away just yet.

How do you guys plan to kick on, are you camping out in the studio or getting yourselves out there on the live stage?  

Our short term goal is to record an album between Liverpool and Sheffield with George Moran of Foxden studios.The two are inextricably linked, good live shows will enhance recording and vice versa and we have the material to finish it within the next year. Then gig the pants off it. 

Lastly we must ask, views on a calamitous week (at the time of Brexit and Euro 2016) for England all round? 

Was Wayne’s poor touch the result of him dwelling over a disenfranchised youth and an England that looks ignorantly inwards and bullshitted by political leaders? Probably not.

LUNGS play at Night and Day Cafe on Friday 29th July - tickets via the box below

Like this? Check out Super Furry Animals and The Horrors headline Liverpool Psych Fest

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