Having just signed to 1965 Records, Leicester brothers LUSTS have a lot to be excited about right now. Soon to release their debut single, ‘Temptation’, on 7″ they have just played London’s Birthdays and are about to head out with Coves on their March UK tour. Delivering their own unique blend of woozy, reverb-filled shoegaze-esque indie-rock, the siblings have recently been receiving acclaim from The Guardian, The Line Of Best Fit and NME. Gigslutz caught up with Andy and James to talk influences, breaking hearts and German poetry…

 

Hi, how are you and what have you been up to this week?

We are doing well thank you.  This week I have been mostly having an existential crisis, but nothing I can’t handle. Also I’ve been reading Bukowski’s ‘Love Is A Dog From Hell’, which I’m loving.

You’ve recently signed to 1965 records, are you excited for the future with the label?

Yeah very much so, we have a vision of what we want to do with the band and it’s exciting to have a label that totally aligns with that. We’re ready to unlock some minds with them.

Your debut single ‘Temptation’ is already available via digital download and is due a physical release on March 2nd, what can you tell us about the track?

Temptation was a track written really quickly and was an outpouring of my feelings at the time. It deals with some of the aspects of myself that I see as quite negative that I wanted to get out, but I really wanted to juxtapose that introspection with an urgent track. It’s definitely something we’ve all felt but maybe sometimes we don’t always address it. I always feel quite emotional when I play it.

With Lusts being just you and your brother, would you say it makes it easier or harder working together?

It’s unique. The best way I can describe it is that James bought me a Rimbaud book, but he bought me the French edition, so I couldn’t read it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I decided to write a song that I thought the book might be like. It’s called ‘Illuminations’, and I don’t think I would have done it without him buying me that.

You were also The Guardian’s ‘New Band Of The Week’, as well as receiving praise from NME and The Line Of Best Fit who wrote “They’re like hidden gems, a new-found relic of a generation lost“. How does it feel to be receiving praise like this already?

It’s very flattering. All of the music was written totally away from critique or the public, we didn’t play any shows or give it to anyone so we honestly didn’t really know what people would think.

Who would you say your biggest influences are when it comes to writing your music?

I’d say: sex, death, friends, family, experiences good and bad, the Bunnymen, and the Electro Harmonix Cathedral.

Are there any current bands you’re enjoying at the moment?

We love Beach Fossils, Eyedress, Alvvays, Sky Ferreira, and Deptford Goth.

If you could choose one artist or band to collaborate with on a song, who would it be and why?

I would love to work with Paul Westerberg from The Replacements and write a song as good as ‘Unsatisfied’ from Let it Be.

You’re also set to go out on a full scale UK tour supporting Coves, after your second live show at Birthdays in London, how are you feeling ahead of these shows?

Drunk, really very drunk. But absolutely looking forward to it. Coves are a great band and really nice, so it should be a lot of fun.

Apart from the show and the support tour, what else can we expect to see from Lusts during 2015?

We want to break your heart while you dance.

 

Catch LUSTS live, supporting Coves in March:

4th The Louisiana, Bristol

5th Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

6th Nation of Shopkeepers, Bristol

8th Nice ‘N’ Sleazy, Glasgow

9th The Castle, Manchester

10th The Bodega, Nottingham

11th The Hope, Brighton

12th Corsica Studios, London