Photo Credit: Ewan Ogden

'The Lathums - From Nothing to a Little Bit More' Tracklisting
1 Struggle 2. Say My Name 3. Know Pt14. Lucky Bean5. Facets 6. Rise And Fall
7. Sad Face Baby 8. Turmoil 9. Land And Sky 10. Crying Out 11.  Undeserving

Album Review: The Lathums - From Nothing to a Little Bit More

Described as their most honest and personal record to date, The Lathums second long player sees the band truly come in to their own through maturity, hard graft and passion. The Wigan-based outfit rose to acclaim through their debut album How Beautiful Life Can Be in 2021, released amongst the turbulent covid times, yet that didn't stop their sky high trajectory. And now they're back. Bigger and bolder than anyone could have predicted.

Fans lucky enough to catch them on tour last year will be all too acquainted with Say My Name which quickly became a stalwart single amongst their live work. And with their recent single Struggle which opens the album, the band's unique ability and knack for melding melchanoly and uplifting aspiration, quickly gives us hints of the schematics at play. “All the songs might be about different things,” Alex says, but “it always comes back to the same point: pretty dark things”. 

From doo-wop inspired melodies on I Know Pt1, straight out of the 50's, to the ferocious guitar swinging solos and soaring vocals on Facets, the North-West wunderkinds commandeer a powerful dynamic. 

As the dust settles, the often wounded but never defeated frontman Alex Moore delivers the pensive and emotive-driven Rise And Fall. Elsewhere there's the stadium ready anthem and live favourite Sad Face Baby, which has yet to leave a room stood still as it eggs on limb flailing mosh-pits whenever it's pulled out. 

Renown for their erupting guitar heavy melodies, there's real growth shown throughout the record with soft and tender moments as seen through Turmoil and the driving, deeply powerful Crying Out. A track that was written a long time ago but fits so seamlessly with the band's direction.  "I’ve only had like one girlfriend, and ‘Crying Out’ was before that. It’s like three different steps all in one album. Pre, during, and post-relationship. All of them are horrible" Alex explains.

A true roller coaster of emotion, the Lathums From Nothing to a Little Bit More is a tug of war with highs and lows, crossing all the despondent pathways from bereavement to relationship breakdowns and everything in between. Our pleasures derive from what has become Moore's coping mechanisms. And we're all the more grateful for it.

The Lathums' From Nothing to a Little Bit More will be released 3rd March 2023 on Island Records.