No ordinary band, no ordinary Christmas single. Chart-topping indie poets, The Lathums accidentally set light to grandma’s paper hat, steal the bang from the crackers and sour the sherry with Krampus, their first festive single. Celebrating the season of forgiveness, light and merriment with a dose of dour, rain-lashed wit, the four-piece take inspiration from the darkest of festive fables to deliver an upbeat carol calling for each day to be grabbed with the same gift-giving, chocolate-eating joy.
After watching the blackest of seasonal comedies, BBC’s Inside No.9 The Devil Of Christmas episode, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s depiction of Krampusnacht was seared into The Lathums’ consciousness, inspiring them to create the two-and-a-half minute rush of scat-singing and bell-ringing. An Alpine fable as old as time, the fear of a visit from Krampus continues to haunt children who have been more naughty than nice.
Always greater as the sum of their parts, Krampus nits together a neat riff, absent-mindedly peeled off by bassist, Johnny Cunliffe in rehearsal, and the nimble imagination of front man and one-man lyric factory, Alex Moore, who heard the faint sound of Christmas within. With a skiffle-beat courtesy of Ryan Durrans and layers of jangling guitars from Scott Concepcion, it’s a seasonal single in the tradition of other, great anti-Christmas singles. File it alongside The Pogues, Gruff Rhys and Wham.
Moore recalls the song emerging in spring 2020, saying: “It was about halfway through the first lockdown when Johnny played the bassline in rehearsals and I thought it sounded like a Christmas song. Scott and I had been round at his house watching the Inside No.9 Christmas special, which is where I found out about the horror of Krampus. If we were to do a Christmas song, I wanted to do it with that dark side.
“I am not a massive Christmas fan, but always eventually get my paper hat on and join in the fun, I can’t help it. After the year we’ve had we’ve got so much cause to celebrate, so this single is one last ‘thank you’ to everyone that’s supported us for the year. See you all, even bigger and better, in 2022”
The Lathums hit the peak of the UK Official Album Chart at the first time of asking in October with their debut album, How Beautiful Life Can Be, just before crowning their first, headline UK Tour in 18 months with a 3,500-capacity sell out at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse. The band will see out the year with their final run of full band dates, rearranged from 2020, a clutch of special unplugged shows and also head out on the road with Paul Weller.
