Six-piece Lakes share brand new single ‘Matches’
Watford six-piece Lakes share brand new single
Matches
Out 30th July
on Big Scary Monsters (UK) and Know Hope Records (US)
LISTEN / MATCHES
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/7HrBstuGvSSCGjFWjCsKmg?si=d6ca307906c84a02
“Whilst the track twinkles with delicate guitar plucks and emotive vocal refrains, the video shows off the band’s photo albums, from family portraits to holiday memories, in beautifully moving fashion.” Rocksound
“Glistening, atmospheric lo-fi pop.” Brooklyn Vegan
“Your new favourite band” Washed Up Emo
Watford based six-piece ensemble Lakes today share second single ‘Matches’ from their forthcoming new record ‘Start Again’. The band recently announced their signing to Big Scary Monsters for the new album, out 30th July.
‘Matches’ is an exploration of political division, set to a backdrop of glistening guitars, a driving melody and the band’s signature harmonised dual lead vocals. “Watching the way political discourse has played out over the past few years and the tension that comes with polarising views – it’s exhausting. No one wants to be proven wrong.” says co-lead singer Roberto Cappellina. “There’s a need for space to have real conversations with each other and to listen. This song is about reaching out to have those conversations.”
After a handful of self-releases and a stint of heavy touring with the likes of Nervus and Orchards, the pandemic forced Lakes to slow down, having been catapulted a long way in a short space of time through consistent hard work and sheer tenacity. The six individuals that make up Lakes took the opportunity to formulate new ideas ready for their newest offering, and fired by a strong ‘do it yourself’ ethic, they collaborated remotely on bringing each other’s stories to life. The resulting album, mixed by Neil Strauch (Owen, Owls, Joan Of Arc, Anathallo, Slow Mass etc), captures themes of healing, hope and relief.
“This batch of songs has been a vehicle for healing for all six of us in some way, so there are a lot of different but raw themes throughout the record. Even though we’re currently all isolated from each other, the one person you can’t escape is yourself,” says Cappellina. “We talk about anything from mental health to addiction; from break ups to cutting out toxic friends, to postpartum psychosis. We’ve been to some dark places between us, but ultimately, ‘Start Again’ is about coming out the other side. This record is about facing that darkness, owning it and letting go of the past. It’s about being at peace with it and moving forward and saying that it’s actually OK to start again.”
Inspired by midwestern emo giants American Football’s LP2, ‘80s pop rock icons Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel and stimulated by the sonic legacies of their scene peers (The Appleseed Cast, TTNG, Broken Social Scene and Bon Iver), the band was born out of drummer/guitarist Matt Shaw’s newfound desire to write music. Within the space of a month, he had the basis for an EP (2018’s The Tahoe EP and 2019’s The Geneva EP) and an album laid out. With former bandmate Roberto Cappellina on vocals, those early works were recorded on a single mic and PC. Soon the pair were joined by Blue Jenkins (vocals, glockenspiel, keys), Rob Vacher (guitar), Gareth Arthur (guitar) and Charlie Smith (bass).
In 2019 Lakes released their debut album ‘The Constance LP’, which saw praise from the likes of Rocksound, Brooklyn Vegan, Alt Press and Punktastic, with Washed Up Emo calling the ensemble “Your new favourite band”. Lakes’ spell-binding and triumphant live show has seen them garner fans worldwide, their reputation unexpectedly preceding them when Tower Records Tokyo profiled the band instore. The band subsequently signed with Friend of Mine Records in Japan and Know Hope Records in the US.