New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Unleashed and unrestrained, lyrically-led indie giants, The Lathums return with their first new music of the year, No Direction, revelling in a 'return to roots' with a three-minute blitz of buzzsaw guitars, speaker-bursting rhythms and a fervent, from-the-heart-and-soul vocal display from singer, Alex Moore. Their first, traffic-stopping new music of 2024, the single arrives ahead of their biggest show to date, appearing at a SOLD-OUT
Robin Park, Wigan, this weekend before 12,000 fans.
Pulling no punches as the band's modern jangle pop guitar hero, Scott Concepcion plugs in and peels off a succession of wiry riffs, No Direction's amped up sound beats a path, with help from steadfast rhythm section, drummer, Ryan 'Duz' Durrans and bassist, Matty Murphy, towards the band's next live landmark. A vast outdoor show in their home town builds on the rain-soaked glory of last summer's 8,000-strong showing at Manchester's Castlefield Arena.
Despite experiencing the sweet taste of repeated successes, and No Direction's muscular sound conjuring clear visions of a young band reborn, Moore's lyrical pre-occupations continue to explore the introverted hyperreality of life as a twenty-something clutching for meaning in a confusing world.
He says: 'There is no direction now but up. With time and experience I've learned that a bit of common sense and a clear mind is all it takes to accept my insecurities and not let them lead or consume me. What's done is done, let the past go and spend time on becoming better. Fear and pain have no place in moving forward, they exist only as a lesson when you reach your final destination.'
In the run-up to
Robin Park's big night out, The Lathums played a run of warm-up dates across the northern United Kingdom and look forward to the rest of the summer when they play Liam Gallagher's 'and friends' festival in Malta in
September and join
Keane to play two arena dates (OVO Hydro, Glasgow - Fri 18 Oct and Co-Op Live, Manchester - Sat 19 Oct).
More than just a band, the summer's reasons to celebrate build one on top of the other as the fundraising total to date for The Lathums' Chance To See Fund, a charitable venture to bring creative opportunity to young people in and around Wigan, has been announced to now exceed £20,000. In collaboration with participatory arts charity, Curious Minds, the funds have been raised through a mix of donations, including direct contributions from fans, guest list contributions and profits raised from band merchandise.
Launched during the busy campaign leading to the band's second UK Official Album Chart No.1 with From Nothing To A
Little Bit More in March 2023 (following No.1 success with their 2021 debut, How Beautiful Life Can Be), the band's own charitable initiative has already seen local projects funded to bring music, theatre and other artistic projects into the lives of people with no other way of accessing them.
Subject to specific funding conditions, local organisations are invited to apply for grants ranging from £500 to £2,000 to support activities that foster joy, positivity, and hope with individual young people, aged 11-18, also able to apply for grants of £50 to £500 to realise their own ideas.
