Wigan indie quartet The Lilacs have launched their debut album, ‘Retaining Up With The Joneses’, through Manchester impartial label Scruff of the Neck. Seven years within the making, the ten-track report brings collectively the melodic hooks and tales of younger maturity which have outlined the band’s rise, marking a big milestone for a bunch steadily constructing its fame on the UK dwell circuit.
Produced by Joe Cross, whose credit embody The Courteeners and Hurts, the album follows a run of singles which have helped set up The Lilacs’ sound, together with ‘Miss Behavin’’, ‘Woman Behind The Bar’, ‘What’s The Worst That Can Occur?’ and ‘Put The World To Rights’. The latter has been singled out by the band as a favorite, whereas the title monitor serves because the report’s lead single and has already change into a fixture amongst followers.
For frontman Ollie Anglesea, ‘Retaining Up With The Joneses’ is the fruits of years spent creating the band’s sound and discovering the proper phrases to accompany it.
“This album has been seven years within the making, and I truthfully couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve created,” he mentioned. “There’s been blood, sweat and tears poured into this report, and a lot of ourselves in each tune.”
The title monitor, specifically, helped set up the album’s route. Anglesea describes it as the primary concept to take form throughout the writing course of, offering a lyrical start line for the broader report.
“It appears like the guts of the report, and I believe it sums up every part we’ve been attempting to say during the last seven years,” he added.
The Lilacs – What’s The Worst That Can Occur? (Official Music Video)
The discharge additionally comes after a troublesome interval for the band. Guitarist Sam Birchall lately acquired the all-clear following a 12 months of most cancers remedy, a journey documented by ITV and the BBC. In opposition to that backdrop, finishing the album carries added significance, with Birchall describing the expertise as one of the rewarding of his profession to date.
“It’s an actual soar in maturity of The Lilacs’ sound, and every part from the lyrics to the tones and the instrumentation has been thought of,” he mentioned. “Our coronary heart and soul has actually gone into making it the perfect that it may be.”
The band’s ambitions are more and more mirrored of their dwell trajectory. Since debuting with ‘Vicarage Highway’ in 2019, The Lilacs have grown a devoted following, gaining additional traction with 2023 single ‘Grace’ earlier than reaching the High 10 of the Unbiased Albums Chart with their 2025 EP ‘The 395 (To Without end)’.
Their dwell credentials have grown alongside that momentum. The quartet have shared phases with The Lathums and Lottery Winners, appeared at festivals together with Isle of Wight and Truck, and offered out a 2,700-capacity headline present in Manchester. This summer season noticed additional competition appearances at Rock For Folks within the Czech Republic, Kendal Calling, Tramlines and Latitude, alongside their first efficiency at Leeds Pageant.
For now, nonetheless, the band – made up of Ollie Anglesea, Sam Birchall (guitar), Matt Johnson (bass) and Dave Gomersall (drums) – are scaling issues again. To mark the album’s launch, The Lilacs are embarking on a run of stripped-back report retailer performances, swapping festival-sized crowds for extra intimate environment. The dates embody Tough Commerce East in London, The Cluny in Newcastle and a hometown look at Boulevard in Wigan, with the run set to conclude in Glasgow on October twenty fifth. Most reveals additionally embody a signing session, giving followers the prospect to fulfill the band after the performances.
The intimate dates provide a special perspective on a bunch whose subsequent chapter is already taking form. The Lilacs are set to return to bigger venues for his or her largest headline tour but in 2027, with ‘Retaining Up With The Joneses’ offering the inspiration for that subsequent step. Full particulars of their 2027 headline reveals will be discovered right here.
The album is on the market in a number of bodily editions, together with CD, cream vinyl, a limited-edition galaxy vinyl and the band’s aptly named Sht Shirt* vinyl, alongside particular person member CD editions and a bundle choice.
For a band who’ve spent a lot of the previous seven years working in the direction of this second, the debut is each a press release of intent and a marker of how far they’ve come. Whether or not it interprets into the chart success they’re aiming for stays to be seen, however The Lilacs are getting into this subsequent part with a full-length report behind them and an more and more bold dwell schedule forward.
Obtain / stream ‘Retaining Up With The Joneses’ right here.
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