Following recent singles Blunder and Futile, Hull post-punks LUMER return this Spring with their new standalone single Gruel. Take a listen to the single via Soundcloud below.
With slots at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in 2017’s UK City of Culture Hull (the band’s home town) and also Dot to Dot festival in Manchester during the week of release, Gruel takes the band to new heights in their very short life and meteoric rise as “a band to watch out for in 2017/18”. On Gruel, the four-piece have branched out into something borderline schizophrenic, with their twitchy guitar riffs and warped vocals giving way to something softer and more downtempo.
To quote the band’s lead vocalist and bass player Alex Evans: “Gruel is about jealousy, anger, and failed attempts at escaping false thoughts. We had a lot of inspirations for Gruel, but mainly it’s a combination of Goth and Post-Punk bands like Bauhaus & Viet Cong (Preoccupations) as well as being inspired by our environment. Practicing in a dark, damp warehouse building in Hull has shaped the dark nature of the song.” This darkness is captured in the single’s somewhat tortured vocal and eerie instrumental middle section.
With their scuzzy and feverish grunge riffs LUMER are fast becoming a manic force to be reckoned with. Recently likened to acts such as Yak, King Nun and Black Flag, LUMER have bloomed out of Hull’s thriving alternative music scene, holding the garage- punk torch aloft and lighting the way for the angry and the disenfranchised. Formed in the wintery beginnings of 2016, LUMER have develop their cryptic post-punk sound and have gone on to play high-octane shows supporting LIFE on their UK tour, Weirds and Vulgarians on their Manchester dates plus a performance at the prestigious Rough Trade Nottingham.
LUMER are Alex Evans (bass/vocals), Benjamin Jackson (Guitar), Jacob Wardle (drums) and Thom Foster (synth/guitar). For info on live dates etc please check out LUMER’s social media.