THE LILACS: THEY’VE ONLY GONE AND DONE IT AGAIN
By Fred Spanner
The Lilacs have just written your new favourite song.
Fresh off whipping up serious hype for their long-awaited debut album Keeping Up With The Joneses, the Wigan lads are back with Girl Behind The Bar, and it’s every bit as catchy, chaotic and stupidly relatable as you’d hope. The single lands ahead of the album’s October 2nd release via Scruff of the Neck, and it’s basically a three-minute love letter to youth, nights out, and questionable decision-making.
Built on a hook that grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go, Girl Behind The Bar feels like classic Lilacs: absolutely brimming with confidence.
Frontman Ollie Anglesea reckons it sets the tone for everything to come. It’s “direct” and “in your face.” He’s not wrong. It’s the sound of a band levelling up without losing the scrappy charm that got them here in the first place.
And that’s the story of Keeping Up With The Joneses. Bigger choruses, tighter playing, and those coming-of-age tales they’ve made their own, all dialled up. Produced by Joe Cross (the man behind records for Courteeners and Hurts), the album’s been pieced together between Manchester and Paris, because of course it has.
It’s not just new material either. Fan favourites Grace and Vicarage Road get a fresh lick of paint, slotting in alongside eight new tracks that are clearly gunning for your Spotify repeat button.
And let’s talk graft for a second. Since forming back in Wigan, this lot have done it the hard way and built up a huge following. From early buzz around Vicarage Road to cracking the Top 10 of the Independent Albums Chart with The 395 (To Forever) EP, they’ve been steadily climbing.
But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Guitarist Sam Birchall has just come through a tough year of cancer treatment and has now thankfully given the all-clear. Proper perspective stuff, which will make this next chapter hit even harder.
And what a chapter it’s shaping up to be.
The headline tour is already tearing through the UK, with sold-out rooms becoming the norm. Then comes festival season. Think Leeds Festival, Truck Festival, Tramlines Festival and a whole load more besides. Big stages, big crowds, big moments.
The Lilacs are overtaking the Joneses, nicking their drinks, and chatting up the girl behind the bar while they’re at it.
Catch them here-
APRIL
17th - Bridlington Spa, This Feeling By The Sea (HEADLINERS)
18th - Glasgow, King Tut’s (LOW TICKETS)
25th - Dublin, Whelan’s - upstairs (LOW TICKETS)
MAY
1st - Plymouth, The Junction (SOLD OUT)
2nd - Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach (LOW TICKETS)
3rd - Liverpool, Sound City
30th - Leigh, Sports Village (with Lottery Winners)
JUNE
14th - Czech Republic, Rock For People
19th - Liverpool, On The Waterfront (with Red Rum Club)
24th - Sheffield, Tramlines (main stage)
30th - Lake District, Kendal Calling
JULY
23rd - Cheshire, In It Together Festival
23rd-26th - Oxfordshire, Truck Festival
25th - Suffolk, Latitude
30th-Aug 2nd - Derbyshire, Y NOT? Festival
AUGUST
16th - Isle of Wight, Robin Hood Adventure Park (with Scouting For Girls)
21st - Blackpool, Winter Gardens (with The Fratellis)
30th - Leeds Festival
29th - Wakefield, Tileyard North (with Ocean Colour Scene)