LANTERNS ON THE LAKE

MICHAEL O’NEILL TALKS TO HAZEL WILDE FROM EPIC INDIE ROCK BAND LANTERNS ON THE LAKE AHEAD OF THEIR HEADLINE PERFORMANCE AT THE BOILER SHOP

It’s quite safe to say, given the developments of the last two years, that Lanterns On The Lake have safely secured the privilege of being a band who need little introduction. Indeed, it’s hardly hyperbole for me to declare that the genre-defying quintet have entered into their ‘imperial phase’ since the release of 2020’s Spook The Herd set them on an upward trajectory that hasn’t even faltered at the mercy of *that pandemic*. Now that the world has returned to a slight degree of normalcy, they’re gearing up to tour the LP a mere twenty months after they released it.

These shows will be poignant to those who found the immersive and engrossing masterpiece to be a healing balm during the surreal days of lockdowns and isolation. It was during this time that the band discovered that the LP had been nominated for the Mercury Prize. For singer/multi-instrumentalist Hazel Wilde, it proved to be a strong beacon of reassurance at such a bizarre time. “It was fairly surreal because we weren’t able to all get together and hug each other or go to the pub to celebrate! It’s weird to look back and think that earlier that day I was feeling so low in general, and a huge part of that was because I thought this album we’d put so much into was just going to fizzle out – we hadn’t been able to play gigs or do anything to promote it. It was one of those ‘give me a sign!’ kind of days. Then I got the sign!”

The band have been anything but idle since then though; following on from the companion EP The Realist, their ethereal single Don’t Have Nightmares acts as the theme song to the BBC podcast Uncanny, a 15-part exploration of the paranormal and otherworldly.

THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE HAS FELT BEAUTIFULLY CHARGED, AND I’VE LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF THE GIGS SO FAR!

The opportunity came about due to host Danny Robins’ love of Spook The Herd, and posed a rewarding creative challenge for the band. “For us, this was a totally different kettle of fish. The key thing for Danny was that the lyrics needed to fit the world of the podcast, and as a band we had an idea of how we could make it sound. That was the easy part. The challenge was to find a way to write lyrics that could cover 15 individual episodes, all telling very different stories. Some episodes include stories of ghosts, one involves UFOs, there’s poltergeists and there’s an episode that touches on mental health issues. I wrote it from the point of view of someone being haunted by their experiences, exploring the way in which these memories can behave much like ghosts in the mind. Danny was absolutely buzzing when we sent him the demo over!”

This finally leads us to the band’s next undertaking: taking these songs on the road after two long years of stasis, with a headline show at Newcastle’s Boiler Shop coming up on Friday 10th December. “In all honestly I was initially dreading it. I had gotten so adjusted to hiding away and was feeling a bit anxious about going to play live again. But once we were playing our first gig something clicked! I think we all feel there’s something different this time around, the whole experience has felt beautifully charged, and I’ve loved every minute of the gigs so far!”

Lanterns On The Lake play The Boiler Shop, Newcastle on Friday 10th December www.lanternsonthelake.com