Versions Of Us

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The album finishes on Last Transmission, hopefully not a sign that the band is coming to an end. At six minutes, Hazel reflects on the past, clutching for hope and inspiration “go on, give us something to be going on with.” Before the song starts to fragment and its structure break down for the last couple of minutes she does however conclude “in the last gasp of this old world, I think I found the beauty and the good.” You know I think I found the beauty and the good Oh honey we’re trying down here on Earth Go on, give us something Summertime romance, making love, and glistening in the sunlight”: The Sweet, Love-Soaked Seduction of Milan Ring’s Juicy “Mangos” November 28, 2023 The fragmented life of the record is only really visible if you look under the bonnet and know where you’re looking. On the surface, musically, at least, Versions Of Us distils everything that felt scattergun across their first three albums (Glorious Tide Take Me Home, Until The Colours Run and Beings). It takes lessons from their glorious 2016 collaboration with Royal Northern Sinfonia and takes Spook The Herd’s less is more philosophy and applies a widescreen vision to it.

As the set draws to a close, a clearly moved Hazel Wilde says “this feels like a very special gig to me.”And she is absolutely right in this assertion. It is special, something that is achieved not only by such an incredibly powerful performance from Lanterns on the Lake but also their connection with the environment in which it takes place. Tonight the Howard Assembly Room has dispensed with their customary seating in the stalls area and in so doing has attracted the biggest sell-out crowd ever to be seen in the venue. And with everyone standing downstairs the atmosphere certainly changes within the building and makes for a more immersive, integrative experience.Tyneside’s Lanterns on the Lake release their much-anticipated album, Versions of Us. This self-produced fifth studio album follows 2020’s Mercury nominated Spook the Herd. Its nine songs are existential meditations examining life’s possibilities, facing the hand we’ve been dealt and the question of whether we can change our individual and collective destinies.

The name of the album is taken from a line in the song “String Theory,” where Wilde sings about multiverses:The nine songs ofVersions Of Usare existential meditations examining life’s possibilities; facing the hand we’ve been dealt and the question of whether we can change our individual and collective destinies.Singer and songwriter Hazel Wilde has no doubt that motherhood fundamentally shifted her perspective.“Writing songs requires a certain level of self-indulgence, and songwriters can be prone to dwelling on themselves,” she says.“Motherhood made me aware of having a different stake in the world. I’ve got to believe that there’s a better way and an alternative future to the one we’ve been hurtling towards. I’ve also got to believe that I could be better as a person, too.” Lanterns on the Lake have announced that their new album, Versions of Us , will be out June 2nd via Bella Union. Featuring Radiohead’s Philip Selway on drums and percussion, it’s the band’s fifth studio album, and their first since the departure of their former drummer, Ol Ketteringham. Alongside the announcement, the group unveiled the album’s lead single, “The Likes of Us.” The making of Versions Of Us was not an easy process. In fact, the band scrapped an entire version of the album, unsatisfied with how it turned out. Mental health issues infiltrated the band’s headspace and drummer Oli Ketteringham left the band, so they turned to Radiohead’s Philip Selway to come play on the album. What an inspired choice, as the drums and percussion on the album are as creative and brilliant as you would expect from such a seasoned performer. Philip’s playing fired up the rest of the band as Paul and Hazel’s guitar work is incredible throughout. But the star of the show is undoubtedly vocalist/pianist/guitarist Hazel Wilde, who turns in a truly stunning vocal performance. Despite going into this record thinking it would be the last one, Lanterns O n The Lake aren’t ready to give up just yet. “We love the music we make and we have such belief and faith in the songs, which is what pushes us every time to make another album,” says Gregory. “Of course, you question why you do it, but when you’re actually doing it, that’s all that matters in life.”

Opener and lead single “The Likes of Us” documents the state of things (“Oblivion howls for these gutted streets / Boarded shops cower in defeat”) but sublimates observations into a mantra of resolve (“I won’t let this spark die in me”). It heraldsVersions of Usas the band’s most cohesive and concise record yet, with its pervading sense of empowerment encapsulated in Wilde’s startling vocal performances. Her voice soars with previously unheard force on an album austere in its beauty, with its shifting sands of searing guitar, fluttering vintage synths and swarming melodic lines, topped with glistening strings from Angela Chan. Released June 2, 2023 via Bella Union, Versions of Us is a phenomenal eruption of sweltering, soaring sound and stunning lyricism. Lanterns on the Lake’s fifth studio album arrives nearly three and a half years after the release of 2020’s Mercury Prize-nominated fourth LP Spook the Herd. Hazel Wilde also became a mother during this time, a life change she says has fundamentally shifted her perspective and without a doubt impacted the album’s lyrical content. With their fourth record, Spook T he Herd, Lanterns O n The Lake found themselves nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize. Now here they were just a short time later, wondering whether they were even going to make another album. To bring the album to life, the band enlisted the help of a certain Philip Selway on session drums. So how did the Newcastle band end up with Radiohead’s drummer on their record?

Whatever serves the song goes on the song,” states Gregory. “Personally, with Spook T he Herd, I think we got it right in that all the bits that go on the song are to serve the vocal melodies and the lyrical ideas behind it. It’s about choosing the instrument carefully and not piling stuff on for the sake of piling stuff on.”