| Imagine if Transplants had grown-up in the rain-soaked suburban sprawl of Chelmsford rather than the grimy underworld ofCalifornia. Or if The Clash’s ‘Sandinista!’ was hurtled into a future of revolving lockdowns and Brexit Britain. Or even the sight of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry being forced to navigate the pimps, gangsters and stresses of Vice City against his will. Anger and ADHD. Brotherhood in a hostile world. That’s LOWLIFE. The British three-piece casually dropped their debut track ‘WASTELAND’ late last year, hitting 300,000 streams with little promotion beyond social media and a nihilistic “if it moves, kill it” video game visual. Now they up their game with their second track ‘Friends’, which is out now on Epitaph / Hellcat. Listen HERE. If ‘WASTELAND’ was boisterous, ‘Friends’ is vociferous. It’s a gnarlier, more confrontational beast, with grinding guitars, clouting beats and bass that delivers a bulging heaviness and a gloating groove. Meanwhile, the Essex-accented rhymes and gang call vocals pay tribute to every kind of friend imaginable: lowlife felons, failed criminals, creatives who break the mould, friends who secretly hate you, and others who will keep you in your thoughts even if you rarely see them. It’s a complete tapestry of life in three-and-a-half minutes. Liam Haygarth explains, “Friends’ was one of the first songs we wrote together during the first lockdown when the pandemic just started, we were sending across ideas/beats to each other over Zoom. Most of the track took shape within the first few days of making it, and then it was just a case of decluttering some bits, and really working on the groove. I think we rerecorded bass about 3 times before we were happy with how it sounded with the drums. The song is about Friends (duh), and how the nature, foundation, and intentions of friendships change throughout life. It has aspects of Latin, Pop and Hip-Hop, we were influenced by Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Timbaland on the beat”. What do you like to do with your friends? LOWLIFE gives us the lowdown on their downtime in the track’s video, which was directed by the band and Thomas Davis (Easy Life, Alfie Templeman). They raise the pulse of a sedate round of golf by joyriding in a golf buggy, play tennis while sporting the least convincing moustaches seen since the ‘Sabotage’ video, and bike around the neighbourhood, clad in balaclavas as if they’re heading to a heist. Watch HERE. And friendship is the basis of the LOWLIFE story. Jordan Cardy earned early acclaim under his RAT BOY alter ego, but he couldn’t have done it without his bandmates Liam Haygarth and Harry Todd. LOWLIFE gave them a fresh chance to be officially equals, especially after Tim Armstrong of Rancid renown recruited them for his Hellcat label. Ironically the band’s early days were hampered by the separation of lockdown, forcing them to instead collaborate remotely. As restrictions lifted, they made a dilapidated studio lock-up on a farm their unlikely HQ, their home for a DIY process in which they create music, artwork, music video and merch away from the prying eyes and interference of the outside world. |
