Lanterns and guests live review and interview with Lanterns

On Friday, me and Georgia went to see Lanterns and a couple of other bands play at The Academy in Manchester and we'd planned to do an interview with Lanterns as we were really impressed with what we heard after seeing them back in January. As well as a brilliant gig, I spoke to the promoter about reviewing her shows more often and Georgia ended up with a photography pass so we actually have some amazing photos to go with the review this time!



Barely Strangers Photo by Georgia Sykes

The first band that took to the stage were Barely Strangers. With their fast paced rhythms and energetic riffs, Barely Strangers played with passion and dedication. Filling the room with sound so that it was fit to burst. As well as playing their own music, they did a fantastic cover of 'Not Nineteen Forever' that got members of the crowd singing along- that song is always a crowd pleaser! I can see this band selling out gigs very soon as their music is extremely catchy and played with great skill. They certainly set the fantastic atmosphere for the night!

Lanterns. Photo by Georgia Sykes

Up next were Lanterns, playing acoustic melodies that were backed up by a heavy drum and bass, made for a very unique sound that echoed through the room. Playing a mixture of their old stuff and some very new music, they performed with skill and dedication. Their soft harmonies flowed from the stage and intoxicated the audience, slowing down time while sirens  whirred down the streets above. I adore seeing this band live because they're always so calming to listen to and have such an individual feel that you wouldn't get with anyone else. I can't wait to see them again!

The Jonny Oates Band. Photo by Georgia

Following after were The Jonny Oates Band. With a wide range of influences such as Jazz, Blues and Rock, they didn't disappoint. Playing with energy and passion, they hypnotised the crowd, pulling them up to the front. It was interesting to watch as their songs would have the saxophone woven into their melodies, giving it a completely different sound. The atmosphere formed hung over the audience as sound bounced off the walls. Each song had its own unique rhythm- keeping the audience entertained throughout.

Unfortunately, we missed the last band as we were upstairs doing an interview with the drummer, Owen, and singer and guitarist, Dominic, of Lanterns. As the recording was pretty muffled, I've just typed it up instead.

Owen: "Weirdly enough, you're probably not going to agree with this but, there's been several people who've said we're very like The Smiths. The vocal melodies are similar as well because a lot of our songs are quite chirpy, happy, bouncy music but with melancholic lyrics and I think that harks back to that whole Smiths-era of music."

Me: "Yeah, I can see that. I think you've also got that kind of Feargal Sharkey warble. The fact that your voice is instantly recognisable. Hearing just a snippet, people could tell it was you singing."

Dominic: "Yeah, like it wasn't something that I thought 'I need to set a different vocal sound.' It just kind of developed. We took people's criticisms on board, people's compliments and just, kind of, put them together."

Me: "So did you always start with the acoustic guitar or was it something you progressed on to?"

Lanterns. Photo by Georgia Sykes

Dominic: "Yeah, well it started with me playing acoustic solo and I wasn't very good. Like, I thought I was at the time and I've looked back at my old videos that I'd posted on social media and thought 'what the fuck was I doing showing people this?' But that's how it started. I was a bassist in a band where the singer played acoustic with bass and a drummer. He gave me the ideas, not directly but I thought 'I can do this, not better, just differently.'

Owen: "When you originally came to me about a year and a half ago. I mean, we'd played in bands together before. We'd played in a punk-ish band a for a year and a half, did the odd gigs and what. But a year ago, Dom came and asked if I wanted to do a gig with him- just me and him and was like 'with an acoustic? That's going to sound weird as fuck, man.' The bassist, Kris, who's obviously a bit older than us, I played in a Jam tribute band with him before we started Lanterns, and he was also running a pub on the side so we practised at the bar. Kris just fit straight on bass so it kind of flowed out of that really. It was really natural, we didn't force anything into shape, we didn't try to make anything sound a certain way. It's just really grown out of playing what we really want to authenticate. What we love to play."



Lanterns. Photo by Georgia Sykes

Me: "So what kind of things made you musicians, or inspired you? Do you think there was a certain band or song that made you think 'yes, this is what I want to do?'"


Dominic: "That's a heavy question, a good one. It's on I think about a lot but I can't really pin it down. I'm inspired everyday by things, but growing up I would say that what made me pick up a guitar was The Strokes. I won't deny that, I don't listen to them anymore but they made me pick up a guitar."

Owen: "See, the first instance that I can really remember wanting to drive myself into being a drummer was to see Dave Grohl in The Foo Fighters. He played at, probably going to fuck this date up but it was about 2006 at Old Trafford Cricket Club. He played there with The Strokes, The Subways Angels and Airwaves and Eagles of Death Metal."

Dominic: "Do you know these bands?"

Me: "Yeah, I saw The Subways here for my first gig and then I saw Billy at an acoustic set not long after and I vaguely know him"

Owen: "Sweet, I had my first cigarette with him, at that gig. What a bastard- look where it's led"

Dominic: "I would say, I don't know if I've answered your question but, The Strokes definitely for me. I remember watching them and seeing this guy completely incoherent. Stoned, pissed and singing. Just doing his thing. All the other kids at school listened to MC and I was like 'No, this is what I like,'"

Owen: "I think more recently, like what inspired Lanterns. What inspired us to play in the way that we do now would, personally I would say, would be a band called Toe, which are a Japanese experimental, instrumental rock band. If you haven't heard of them , literally check them out as soon as you can. They're called Toe- literally like your toe. They are on another fucking planet, like jazz, metal, rock. It's not a heavy listen, it's very pleasant. I wouldn't say we're like that, but we love aspects of that music and we've inadvertently translated it into our own music with quite ambitious timings."

Dominic: "We don't adhere to any kind of genre or style, we just kind play what feel that we would like to hear."



Lanterns. Photo by Georgia Sykes

Owen: "We were literally inspired by so many bands at different points. Like two months ago, I was massively inspired by a band called Pinegrove, who are a really recent band from America, if you haven't heard them, they're phenomenally good. Just amazing new bands. The thing is they're pushing a boundary of their own thing. They're looking at something and thinking 'I want to fucking do that to death' and that's what we're all about. We're different things every month, every week, everyday, aren't we? That's probably the best inspiration description I could give."

Me: "So do you think you're identity has changed as you've progressed into music?"

Owen: "I think it's definitely helped develop me as a musician. Whether as a person, I'm not too sure. It's hard to judge, that."

Dominic: "For me, most certainly. Music is my entire being, it's just the be all and end all."

Owen: "It's given me confidence. The confidence to get up on stage. People say 'do you not get nervous?' But because it's the 500th time I've been through that motion of just setting up a drum kit or setting up a gig. It's a strange thing to think. If this was my first gig tonight, I'd be a wreck, I wouldn't be able to do something like this."

Dominic: "Yeah, I think music has shaped everyone's life in one way or another. It's such a big part of culture at the moment. For me, personally, it's made me who I am. I was a bassist to start with and I always fantasised about singing, playing a guitar but was too shy to do it. Yeah, now I'm doing it so it gave me that confidence. To start with, it was fucking scary but now I could do it without a second thought."