The British Invasion is not over, boys and girls. Get ready for the second wave! The Lancashire Lads are on the way.
According to their rather brief bio, this Brit band was “born in Leigh, not On Sea, but on a navigation, absconded to Atherton, biked to Bolton, produced in Preston.” They’re fresh off a tour through Europe having played gigs in such places as Manchester, Milan and Munich “courtesy of a Stately intervention.” But just who are The Lancashire Lads?
Glad you asked! The Lancashire Lads are: Graham John "Jolli Holli" Hollingsworth (lead vocals, guitar, bass and keyboard), Corner Shop’s Andy Flynn (drums), Richard (“bowing” strings), Steve (“blowing” brass) and Alan Gregson of West Orange Studios (“perfecting” production and background vocals). Their new EP, the eponymous Lancashire Lads, is a fine four –aural example of the band’s current musical musings.
The lead-in is titled “History”. Ironically, the band’s bio is so brief that while their own history is hardly revealed, this song serves as an interesting introduction to the act’s tuneful talents. It’s another observation on love in a “melodic orchestrated elevation . . . (indeed) “delivered with swagger and panache” just as the boys say.
The second selection is “The Rain”. This is a rather rhythmic “romp in the rain” as the boys note. It’s an upbeat song that tunefully tells a tale of an admittedly “not so sunny Emerald expedition”. This particular piece is highlighted by a bit of Celtic soul and fiddle.
“Port Patrick" is an ambitiously and electronically alerts other to Port Patrick’s “historic adventure” in an exceptional cut steeped in the story of a once forgotten town. This, like all the other tracks here is an original work by Holli himself.
“Today is the Day” is perhaps the snazziest track here as what the band claims to be “a euphoric celebration” that’s both bold and brassy. This one, like the previous pieces, includes honest, accented vocals free of “Americanized” editing. It’s an effective closing cut that hopefully only foreshadows the folkish future of The Lancashire Lads.
My name is Phoenix and . . . that's the bottom line.