Lumer: Following In the Footsteps of Their Post-Punk Predecessors

 

The North of England, and Manchester in particular, has always been synonymous with the experimental and often primal textures that make up post-punk and new wave. From the abrasive hostility of Joy Division to the mechanical haywire of The Fall, the North was once upon a time a breeding ground for music that perfectly incorporated punk, noise, psychedelia and garage rock, producing some of the most influential groups of the late-seventies-to-early-eighties period.

 It seems that over 40-something years after this strange blend 
arose and formed, the level of bands producing music of the same equivalent were few and far between. With a stronger focus and influence coming from the more commercially successful British acts of the nineties and onward, the distinctive combination of discordant guitar lines and sporadic vocals seemed to crop up less and less within emerging bands; it seemed as though the influence of such music was seeing a lull. 

              
As ever with emerging musical trends, this vivid combination of punk and experimental music appears to have seen a renaissance, a sudden wave in gritty, guitar based bands emerging over the UK. And at the heart of it all, once again, is Manchester. It seems that nowhere else in the UK does a music scene adopt such strong DIY ethics to both live and recorded music, which in turn effects the the overall sound and image of the bands coming out of there right now. Whether it’s the matching themes of bleak and grit typical of the North’s climate, or the influence of the city’s musical predecessors, it can’t be said. However it is evident that Manchester’s current underground music scene is at the very least responsible in part for its revival.

It’s bands like LUMER who are to credit for this. Hailing from Manchester, with members based around Leeds and Hull, LUMER create vitriolic, feedback-laden tunes with  an unrelenting backbeat provided by Will Evans on percussion. Alex Evans’ distinctively frantic and often mourning vocals are reminiscent of the likes of The Cramps’ Lux Interior and Mark Smith of the Fall, a band who have had a prominent influence on their music, tells frontman and vocalist Evans, amongst the likes of Protomartyr, The Birthday Party and Josef K. While LUMER share their post-punk-esque sound with fellow Mancunian acts such as LIFE, Cannibal Animal and TINFOILS to name a few, their hypnotically catchy yet abstract bass/ guitar melodies as well as overall tightness as a band separates them from others in the field. Reverb-drenched guitar and lo-fi synth, such as that used on tracks like ‘By Her Teeth’ subtly hints at the exploration of surf and psychedelia, all the while adding to the individuality and mystique of LUMER’s sound.

It’s this which has gained the band their popularity which continues to grow, with recognition from Steve Lemacq on his BBC 6 show as well as being invited to play at BBC’s Maida Vale Studios. Embarking on a UK tour with London psych-rock outfit Crows as well as heading out for a tour of France earlier last year has proved their strength as a live band as well as in the studio, showcasing their music to a wider audience.

Coping with a global pandemic the only way the only way they know how, LUMER have kept busy by releasing a stint of singles, with 'By Her Teeth' and 'The Sheets' coming out in May and August respectively, under sterile conditions. keeping the ball rolling, LUMER are back with brand new single 'First Is Too Late', the first glimpse of their forthcoming EP 'Disappearing Act'. I tuned in with frontman and voice behind the music Alex Evans to discuss the creative process behind the latest track, the recording of 'Disappearing Act', coffee, hangovers and incorporating the darkness of their surroundings into their songs...

-DH: LUMER have had a turbulent year pre-Covid-19, opening for Crows on a UK tour as well as embarking on a tour of France in February 2020. How would you say the band has coped with the inability to tour and play live music on the same scale as last year?

-AE: 'Well I think it was a rather strange readjustment to the new monotonous form of living. It has been a hard time to feel creative or as if you are doing anything of use whatsoever. Not gigging or seeing gigs has been hard to be honest. The atmosphere of a gig can't be replicated in any other way, I think we all can't wait to be back and begin to forget this year ever happened, or at least after France.'

- You've been careful  not to allow this to to put a cease on your creative flow however, putting out two singles since the first national lockdown, those being 'By Her Teeth' released in May closely followed by 'The Sheets' released in August. Were these written and recorded during isolation or had you been sitting on them for a while?

- 'The tracks were written a long while ago, maybe even a year or so. They were two songs that both fell together quite quickly. We had these tracks from back last summer really but since then we have had a few changes within the band. It's been quite nice to get time to concentrate on writing though. We find ourselves coming out with new material at the end of every practice. We have been the most productive we have ever been and it can be quite motivating really through this God awful time.'

- Both singles seem to highlight the sonic exploration of the band, 'By Her Teeth' stretched out over an underlying synth melody and 'The Sheets' incorporating effects-heavy guitar and production. How did the use of synth and experimentalism in general come about within your music?

- 'I guess it's due to the music we all listen to. Bands like Einstruzen Neubaten and Throbbing Gristle maybe give a need to experiment, although I think it just gives us a reason to make pedalboards bigger and gather a larger collection of synths.'

- Both lyrically and sonically, your music explores an element of darkness and hostility. Where would you say that this comes from?

- 'From the world that surrounds us really. There is benevolence and light to be found but it's important to address the darkness or else you'd be living in an idealistic dream ignoring the thick layer of shit you are really wading through.'

-You've just brought the out brand new track 'First Is Too Late' to add to your repertoire of singles, what was the creative process like when writing this?

- 'I think similarly to most of the music we have written- it's been mostly an idea taken from to practice then we all input our swing on it. I believe it to have been a fairly quick process, songs can be made in an hour and I think this was like that.'

-what was the recording process with the new tune?

- 'We have done the whole EP at the Naves in Leeds with a lovely fella called Alex Greaves. It was over about five or six days with a lot of hangovers, coffee and meal deals. Overall though, the recording process is, along with performing, the reason we do it.'

- 'Disappearing Act' is the name of your upcoming EP. Is this the first full body of work that the band will have worked on?

- ''Disappearing Act' is not the first full body we have worked on. We did a four track EP in 2018 for 'Blood On Suits' but decided to bring it down as I think we just weren't really happy with half the songs on there. That was a little bit of a dry run, this is maybe more of the real thing. The wet run, I guess.'

- How far underway are you with the finalities of recording the EP and when will it be released?

- ''Disappearing Act EP' will be released January 29th with Beast Records. The EP is ready to burst in your ears like a Muskesque test rocket set for Mars.'

Listen to LUMER's latest single 'First Is Too Late', out now on Spotify and all major music platforms.

Photo #1- Anastassiya Nabokov

photo #2,3,4- Sam Kennedy