From the gentrified suburbs of Leeds comes LUMER, a band that relishes being on the outside, looking in. The group began releasing music in 2018, and their debut EP The Disappearing Act came out early last year, under Beast and BLEAKHAUS Recordings. They describe themselves as loud, obnoxious, and at times, rather fiery, and it’s easy to see why. This latest single is exactly that.
Slaves spring to mind immediately as the guitar riff begins. The trudging, mid-tempo drums and bass leads you into the verses, before singer Alex Evans greets you; ‘I’ve got 99 problems, so I might as well fix this’. It’s the lyrics here that really shine. Evans speaks of complacency, and taking issue with the little things, just because there’s nothing else to moan about. ‘Making fiction out of fictional facts’, and ‘burn this flag, burn them all; watch them suffer, watch them fall’, stand out; the views of those who choose to hate something different to what they know, or have opinions of matters that don’t concern them. The song breezes by, but certainly leaves a lasting impression.
Following on the tails of fellow Yorkshire acts, LUMER seem primed to ride the recent rise in punk’s popularity. Their musicianship and songwriting put them on par with their contemporaries working the northern circuits today, and there is no way they will remain on the outside for long. You can catch them on tour at the end of March, but until then, stream this song. You’ll thank us later.
Words: Ryan Bulbeck // Photo: Nina Rädel
‘Hatred is a Passion of Theirs’ is out now. Stream the track below.