With a Mercury Prize nomination for their acclaimed 2020 album “Spook The Herd” under their belt, Lanterns On The Lake today share a beautifully shot live video of their single ‘Baddies’, filmed socially distanced at The Sage, Gateshead.
Tyneside’s Lanterns on the Lake release their much-anticipated album, “Versions of Us”. This self-produced fifth studio album Its nine songs are existential meditations examining life’s possibilities, facing the hand we’ve been dealt and the question of whether we can change our individual and collective destinies.
Singer and songwriter Hazel Wilde has no doubt that motherhood fundamentally shifted her perspective. “Writing songs requires a certain level of self-indulgence, and songwriters can be prone to dwelling on themselves,” she says. “Motherhood made me aware at having a different stake in the world. I’ve got to believe that there’s a better way and an alternative future to the one we’ve been hurtling towards. I’ve also got to believe that I could be better as a person, too.”
The band also performed ‘When It All Comes True’ for the Mercury Prize BBC feature that aired last week and is available to watch further below.
Although having missed out on the prize, vocalist Hazel Wilde said of being shortlisted: “We’ve always put our hearts into the music we make – but never more so than with this album. We’re especially proud of this one. So to have it recognised in this way means more than I can say. With the tours being cancelled and everything being put on hold it was crushing to think that the record could be forgotten about. Then, right when we thought the story was over for this album, it gets nominated for the Mercury Prize. What a beautiful plot twist.”
“With this brave, political LP, Lanterns On The Lake have found their time… Hazel Wilde’s words are clear, emphatic and beautifully sung… The songs are shimmering and sharply defined; infused with melody and searing musical ideas.” MOJO – 4 stars ****
“It’s reassuring to know that raw beauty can still be found within the groove of vinyl, of which this Newcastle band’s fourth LP provides rich evidence.” Record Collector – 5 stars *****
“A glorious shot of potent romanticism… While the songs are Lanterns’ leanest yet, fusing dream pop melodies with Paul Gregory’s soaring post-rock guitar, it’s Hazel Wilde’s lyrics that quicken the pulse. If we are sleepwalking towards apocalypse, Lanterns On The Lake are here to sing us out in style.” Long Live Vinyl – 9/10
“Succeeds in painting atmospheric images, with elliptical poetry set against dreamy, FX-laden guitars, twinkly pianos and jagged beats… Lanterns On The Lake can be quietly magnificent.” Uncut
“Poised, rising and falling soundscapes… From the yearning Every Atom to the bittersweet Baddies, every track trembles with individual intensity… A Northern powerhouse.” PROG
“Mesmerising… There is an extra urgency and bite on the fourth album from a band that commonly trades in hazy loveliness… It gradually reveals itself to be rather wonderful.” The Sun – 4 stars ****
“A masterpiece… This album is all the proof you needed that their excellence was staring right at you all along, you just failed to truly see it.” Music OMH – 5 stars*****
“Musically elegant, emotionally eloquent, and absolutely vital.” The Line Of Best Fit – 9/10
The Fat Angel Sings 