2024 has been a typically frenetic year for The Lilacs. First they spread chaos across the land with their biggest headline tour to date, before summer festival season fired up with The Isle of Wight, insane crowds at Tramlines, a This Feeling stage headline set at Truck and Y Not? – all interspersed with big outdoor shows as guests to James and The Sherlocks. It’s been just as hectic away from the stage, too, with the Wigan lads inking a deal with Scruff of the Neck and working hard on brand new material.
Now The Lilacs’ persistence is set to pay off they release the new single ‘Where You’ve Been Hiding’ – the first song from their long awaited second EP ‘The 395 (To Forever)’, which follows on March 21st. The track emerges as they prepare to play their biggest headline show to date at the sold-out 1500 capacity Manchester O2 Ritz next week.
The Lilacs pull a thrilling bait-and-switch with ‘Where You’ve Been Hiding’, with its folky intro soon giving way to a boisterous bluster of melody. While the band clearly sound better than ever – especially with Ollie Anglesea’s vocals bursting with a new-found confidence and the clarity to express his melancholy lyricism – their songwriting is coming on leaps and bounds, too. It captures their famous energy and flair for an anthemic chorus, but there’s a new-found vulnerability to it as well.
Ollie says, “We’re absolutely buzzing to release ‘Where’ve You Been Hiding’. It’s been a while since we last released music, so we’re overjoyed to put this one out into the world. We’ve definitely turned things up a notch with this track and almost it feels like the start of a new era of The Lilacs. The song explores relationships in today’s world, where media, politics, and everything in between can really complicate things.”
The Lilacs recorded both the single and the wider EP with producer Joe Cross (Courteeners). The ‘395’ of the title is a reference to a local bus in Wigan which the band used to take growing up – all big adventures, of course, start with a modest journey. It’s indicative of how they use local references to help keep their music real and relatable. Their early single ‘Vicarage Road’ is a reference to their local area, while their band name is a tribute to the staff at The Lilac Centre, a specialist clinic in Whiston Hospital, who looked after guitarist Sam Birchall’s late mother during her battle with cancer.
Sam adds, “We’re buzzing to release ‘The 395 (To Forever)’, a record filled with the tales of our youth—late nights, lost loves, and growing up in the north. These songs are our memories, but in music form, and we hope the fans will resonate with them. This is by far our best work to date and we’re proud to have put this out to the world. We’ve definitely turned things up a notch with this record and almost it feels like the start of a new era of The Lilacs.”
‘The 395 (To Forever)’ is now available to pre-order HERE. It will be released on CD and night bus black vinyl formats, while select indie retailers offer an exclusive day bus coloured vinyl with alternate artwork, while the band’s website has an exclusive white and purple vinyl.
Completed by Matt Johnson (bass) and Dave Gomersall (drums), The Lilacs formed in 2018 and debuted with ‘Vicarage Road’ the following year. They’ve so far released just one EP and a handful of standalone singles, but they’re making waves in all of the right ways. They’ve amassed 3 million+ streams and earned airplay from Radio 1, Radio X and XS Manchester, while their other big support shows have included The Lathums, Lottery Winners and The View.
The Lilacs will follow their landmark Manchester show with a Sheffield gig as guests with their friends The Rosadocs, their debut international show at Sweden’s Viva Sounds Festival on the This Feeling x John Kennedy Radio X stage, and a return to Glasgow at the famous King Tut’s.
NOVEMBER
1st – Manchester, O2 Ritz (SOLD OUT)
9th – Sheffield, The Octagon (with The Rosadocs)
30th – Gothenburg, Viva Sounds Festival
DECEMBER
7th – Glasgow, King Tut’s
