“PEOPLE JUST CAN’T SEEM TO IGNORE US ANYMORE” ALEX MOORE ON THE LATHUMS NEW CHAPTER

INTERVIEW | ALEX MOORE – THE LATHUMS by Anne Kelly

In an industry saturated with emerging talent, holding the spotlight for any length of time is a a challenge in itself. Gone are the days where hard graft was enough to push through, instead bands are pressured to forgo the actual artistry in favour of chasing fleeting trends. With streaming services booming and a wave of ‘nepo-babies’ entering the scene, genuine talent and ambition are not a rarity, however, the perseverance is. Many working class bands find themselves hanging up their instruments before they even break even, but groups like Wigan’s The Lathums are a reminder of just how powerful grassroots support can be in organically uplifting the music scene.

A band who have – and continue to – evolve naturally through experience, The Lathums sound and style have developed authentically, reflecting their genuine passion for music and the influences of their surroundings. Cultiviating in a passionate and loyal fan base, The Lathums have achieved some sensational heights. Most recently, a sold out hometown show in front of over 11,000 of those dedicated fans at Wigan’s Robin Park in July last year. Already achieving two consecutive Number 1 albums, The Lathums are ready to go for it all again with album 3 Matter Does Not Define, set for release Friday 28th February.

So are they going for the treble? Well, I had the pleasure of asking the delightfully charming frontman of The Lathums, Alex Moore that question – and more – over a phone call last week.

“Oh, of course, of course” Alex confidently beams. “Tough competition, I must say…but people just can’t seem to ignore us anymore.”

The third installment from The Lathums, Matter Does Not Define is eagerly anticipated for release this Friday 28th February and comes a whole week earlier than planned, giving fans the opportunity to learn the lyrics ready to sing back at the band when they head on their extensive UK/Europe tour in March.

“Very, very excited” tells Alex. “It’s always the same when it gets to the album release and stuff, we’ve listened to the album and heard it, and had it recorded for months and months so we’re just waiting for it to to actually come out now. But we’re really excited to have it come out even sooner, and it’s nicer for the fans too who will have the album for a bit longer before the actual tour.”

Matter Does Not Define see’s the quartet returning to a more ‘back to basics’ approach with an elevated sense of confidence and experience. Returning with the the support of long term collaborators Chris Taylor and John Kettle, Alex shares what fans can expect from round 3.

“There’s elements of early Lathums in there, but a little bit more thought out and constructed. Obviously we’re older and we’ve been doing this long enough now that I think if we weren’t improving there would be a problem” laughs Alex. “There’s always elements of what people come to expect but I think that with this album that there’s a lot of sonics and ideas that will be very different to people but it’s just progression really. It’s still real, it’s still real music but it’s just crafted differently.”

Working with long term collaborator and mentor John Kettle again, it’s clear to see that their relationship is one which grounds Alex and continues to shape the direction of The Lathums.

“He was there before the Lathums were the Lathums, as a musical mentor and good friend. Always giving advice, and he used to let us record in his studio. He’d record our songs and stuff at a very, very very nice price” he sniggers. “Obviously that’s his job, he records people and makes these beautiful pieces of music but he obviously saw something in us and he knew that we didn’t have any money so he wanted to help us.

He understands when I’m writing and I’m stuck in my own head. It’s hard to gauge sometimes if I’m going in the right direction or not but he has this kind of, like comfortability where I’m allowed to kind of just kind of go off tangent a little bit and find things, and maybe change things up and make things better. Where usually there’s quite a pressure to get it right and get it done he takes that pressure off and lets me do my thing. Like if I’m going in the wrong direction, he’ll reign me back in.

I think we’re kindred spirits, me and John, I think we’re very alike.”

Returning to the label home of Modern Sky after a 2 album stint at Island Records, I was keen to find out the motivations for the move at this time in their career. Wondering if it was perhaps a creative decision, this idea was quickly averted, with Alex seeming a little less enthusiastic about the circumstances.

“I mean, through the process of necessity and the situation really. You play the hand you’re dealt. I don’t think there’s anything out there which would stop me from continuing now. Sometimes you’ve got to just put your ego aside.”

Three and a half years since their debut release How Beautiful Life Can Be [September 2021] and just 2 years – almost to the day – of sophomore album, From Nothing to a Little Bit More (March 2023) the journey of The Lathums has been nothing short of spectacular. Despite spending the best part of their adult lives of the road or in the recording studio, Alex is still endearingly humble about his success and it’s clear that the writing process is forever ongoing.

“I think it [album 3] started even before the first album was ever made. Some of the songs and the ideas in there go back as far as 2016/17. But I think, after album 2, that as soon as we’d finished recording we went on tour with The Killers and then we flew to Europe and went on tour so I didn’t have much time to think about it [writing]. But on that tour I started writing certain songs, and I was kind of in that flow. When we came back after that we really tried to hone it in there. So it’s an ever turning process really, it never really stops.”

“There’s this song, ‘Unrequited Love’ – that’s a long, long time coming that one. Some certain songs, even though I think they’re great – obviously I would – sometimes they might not fit on a certain album or something might have already taken its place. It’s a crazy process, really. So I think that was one of the softer ones that don’t like, shout in your face and get you straight away. They sometimes creep under the radar a little bit.”

“I’d have put 40 songs on there if I could!” laughs Alex. “Everything has its time, I believe everything has and if it’s not. If it’s not today then it’s for a reason.”

Whilst Matter Does Not Define brings a ‘back to basics’ energy to it’s core, there is also a strong sense of new and ambitious territory explored. One of these moments come across strongly in the track ‘Surrounded by Beauty’ which features a stunning trumpet solo mid track, completely changing the energy and direction of the entire album.

“That was actually Joe from Red Rum Club. He came in, and I don’t think he even I don’t knew who he was meeting, or it what track it was going to be. I think he just turned up, warmed himself up, and then just went off and just absolutely nailed it. The sound is very recognisable, there’s not many people that I know that can pull off trumpet solos like that!”

I have to admit, learning this was like an epithany moment. Having listened to the track my instinctive feelings were ‘this sounds a lot like Red Rum Club’, not once did I actually expect it to be from the same talent pool. Something with reflects just how distinctive Joe’s performance style is.

Elaborating on the song, Alex explains:

“I think it’s it’s easy when you’re in a certain head space, or when you are a certain way, it’s easy to let outside and external things impact you. So no matter how much ambition you have to get up and do things, I think if there’s one little bad moment, everything falls apart. We don’t really see the the beauty that we actually have, and how lucky we are to even just be alive.

I think I talk too much about myself. Really.“

Moving on to another personal highlight of the new album ‘Knocking At Your Door’, I can’t help but reminisce to the energy felt in their debut in the track ‘Artificial Screens’.

“There’s many facets of of these songs in the narratives; I think people are tired. Everything you see, or you read, or you hear it hits home. We’re lucky to be alive, and we’ve got this opportunity to exist and stuff. There is some power in just being, standing up for yourself and speaking out.

I am a thinker, I think quite deeply so that does spill through.“

And spills through it does. Alex has an extraordinary talent of conveying his musings so beautifully on track. Often compared as wiser than his years, barely quarter of a decade old, this young artist beholds an undeniable talent of storytelling unique to his generation. Asking about what track he is most excited to share with fans, Alex tells me:

“I think the whole body of work together makes a great story. The narrative, and how it flows through all different life’s emotions and experiences and stuff like that, it’s not all just doom and gloom and I think that’s that’s something that we’ve always kind of had to our advantage. You don’t just put on our album for one specific feel or sound. It’s all very different. There’s many things to think about.“

With the conversation moving to live settings, I use the opportunity to ask how rehearsals are going for (the now started) intimate live shows and impending full tour schedule next month.

“It’s going good but it never feels the same. I mean, you can rehearse until you’re blue in the face, but it doesn’t necessarily translate to an actual concert. When it’s just you in a cold room, just the 4 of us looking at each other – which we rarely do when we’re on stage, because we’re all facing the crowd – it’s strange. We’ve switched it up so we’re all facing right way now, but there’s definitely like an electricity in it. It’s a real thing and it’s actually there around you.

We’ve got a lot of in stores which is cool. I enjoy them. It’s not often that we do this stuff, like that really intimate stuff and make a tour of it. I feel like you get to meet people and actually see the people that are listening your music, getting vinyls and coming to shows. To be able to actually look into their eyes, get their name and speak to them and stuff like that. Instead of just numbers on Spotify or whatever it is, they’re the actual people that are there coming out. They are from all kinds of backgrounds.“

After previously declaring my very own love for The Lathums, we switch to your opening night of the headline tour at my own “local” – Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom.

“Aye, we’ve got 2 nights there at Barrowlands and we’re excited about that, really excited about that. We’re coming back with a bang.”

After selling out night 1, a second date at Scotland most iconic live venue is an incredible feat for the band who, last time in Glasgow, played to a crowd of around 1000. Combined, The Lathums will perform to around 4,000 Scottish fans when they return on 13th/14th March; merely the tip of the iceberg of their biggest headline tour yet.

“We have a bigger influx than we did on album 2 and that’s a massive win. We’ve already seen it as well. The the engagement that we got from the beginning of album 3 compared to the beginning of album 2. We’re just gaining new people all the time, and it’s good. People just can’t seem to ignore us anymore.”

With the clock ticking on our time together, I allow myself one final question that, as a personal fan, had been curiously crossing my mind for years. I’ve always wanted to know, where does the name ‘The Lathums’ come from?

“So we played our 1st gig as a little band, before we even had a name. Actually, it was a hen do…” he laughs “Don’t get too excited like, it wasn’t like that. I think that’s the one and only hen do we’ve ever done to be fair” he hastily explains before we both burst into laughter at the mere thought of The Lathums performing for a group of hungry hens.

“But, yeah on the way to the show we passed through a place and it was there was a sign that said, Lytham – ‘Liitham’ – which is the actual pronunciation of a little place near where we live. And one of us phrased it as ‘Lavum’, obviously because of our Wigan accent but people started making fun of us because we’d not said it right, but then it just kind of stuck. Before we knew it we were selling out up and down the country in the UK. And I was like, we can’t really change the name now. At the start I wasn’t too fond of it, but now it’s ours, and it means something different. The people’s band – the working class lads.”

I think that’s a very touching note to leave things on. A band not shy to wear their heart on their sleeve, often exploring emotional depths wise beyond their years whilst still delivering relatable, fuzzy feel good, hip shaking rock ‘n’ roll. A band who offer something refreshing on the often repetitive indie scene, The Lathums have honed in on a unique and timeless soundscape that continues to mature with every new chapter. Despite championing two Number 1 albums in such a short period of time, the band remain humble and continue to stay true to their roots, proving just why The Lathums have an army behind them who would proudly acclaim them as ‘The People’s Band’.

Matter Does Not Define is released a week earlier on Friday 28th February 2025 via Modern Sky – PRE-ORDER NOW

Tickets are selling fast, many already sold out for the band’s biggest headline tour yet, you can check out the full list of live dates https://www.thelathums.com/#live

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