Traveling over 10 hours from North England to Austin for SXSW, this band is excited to play their music in Texas. They described their music as “loud, danceable, and rock!” The Lounge Society takes a moment to discuss their journey of finding their own sound and writing music.
“We were all 15/16 (years old) all in the same music class doing GCSEs, which is a meaningless class. And we started playing covers by bands like “The Strokes” and “Arctic Monkeys” and then eventually we kind of started writing songs and that's still what we're doing” said guitar player Herbie.
From having the same music class in high school to playing covers together to now creating a second album. The band, The Lounge Society, has worked together over the years to create music that is worth listening to.
“Everyone chips in with everything. And I guess, helps things go quickly and develop really well. And we'll add it. So it's like, four opinions on anything. So kind of makes it inherently better,” said Cam on vocals.
It is apparent that they value every band member's opinion. Making music that the band likes have found themselves a community of people gathered to listen to their music in their “quiet town.”
“I think where we are from is on a smaller scale maybe what Austin is for Texas if you know what I mean, so I think it was quite nice coming here, because it did feel a little, you know, home from home, like, you know, the UK can sometimes not be the kindest place in some parts. But where we are is quite forward-thinking,” said Archie, the drummer.
The band is located in the UK and their experience living there has inspired them to write songs about presenting issues such as their song “Burn The Heather.”
“So where we're from, there's a very strange and this is a very English thing, I think, but there's this weird sort of tradition and culture of going out wearing tweed, and shooting Grouse, these little birds. They like to burn Heather, to kind of get the birds to fly off, and then they pick them off. And it's just like the most grotesque celebration of violence. And that's around the corner from us. So that's what that song is about,” said Herbie.
Their song touched on a political issue in the UK and received different reactions from the public.
“I think there was maybe a bit of a bigger backlash than we expected it to because there was quite a lot going on politically at the time about the laws and whether people would still be able to do it. And so it kind of got used by people who wanted to use it, Chris Packham, an English naturalist, and wildlife presenters shared it at the time. If you provoke a reaction, it means you've maybe touched a nerve, which isn't the worst thing in the world,” said Archie.
Their song, “Burn The Heather,” brought many people to their music, and The Lounge Society was able to release their first album, “Tired of Liberty,” in 2022. They dropped their new album last year and are already thinking about a new album.
“I think we're very much ready to go again, and kind of more I'd say we're definitely more excited and ready for it than we are nervous. With writing songs. There's always that little bit of weariness, it's built on risk and renders like questioning yourself constantly, said guitar player Hani. We were talking about that the other day, we really want like a really scathing review,” said Archie.
The Lounge Society is starting to think about their next album but before they start working on that they were able to take the stage at SXSW this year. Although last year they were set to perform, they weren’t able to come out due to unforeseen circumstances so this year they came back better than ever and performed 3 different times at SXSW at different venues: Sellers Underground, Chess Club, and Inn Cahoots Outdoors. While you wait for them to drop a new album, make sure to listen to their amazing music! Definitely worth a listen!
Thank you to The Lounge Society for being so funny and cool! I hope you enjoyed exploring Austin, Texas! You guys are great and I can’t wait for you guys to come back again soon!
Written by Brianna Gonzalez