The Lathums break down new single ‘No Direction’ and discuss huge hometown show
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(Credits: Far Out / Ewan Ogden)
Ahead of the biggest headline show of their career on July 19th at Robin Park in Wigan, The Lathums have shared their new single, ‘No Direction’, and spoken exclusively with Far Out about the track, as well as their grand homecoming.
The turbo-charged song is the first release from the four-piece this year following their chart-topping second album, From Nothing To A Little Bit More. Following an exceptionally busy 12 months in 2023, The Lathums have slowed things down over the last seven months, but ‘No Direction’ is a welcome return and quenches fans’ taste for new music.
Speaking exclusively to Far Out, frontman Alex Moore describes the new single as the “old school Lathums sound” and a track that he believes will ensure they “come back with a bang”.
The back-to-basics track captures the primal sound of four mates playing in a band for the pure love of doing so. It was born in the rehearsal room, with the members bouncing off one another’s energy. “It was the same with ‘Say My Name’; they became what they were because we played them live together. It’s a good way of gauging a song,” Moore adds.
Currently, The Lathums are playing a set of warm-up intimate shows before they commence Robin Park for a sold-out show in front of 12,000 fans in their hometown on July 19th. The gig can’t come soon enough for Moore, who says, “Everything that we’ve been doing for a long time has been building up to Robin Park, and we just want to get on the stage,” he says.
The importance of showing locals that acts from Wigan can grace stages of this magnitude isn’t lost on Moore, who feels very fortunate that The Lathums have managed to break through and doesn’t take their position for granted.
Alongside the Curious Minds charity, The Lathums have created the Chance to See fund, which is helping people aged 11-18 in Wigan have the opportunity to be creative. So far, more than £20,000 has been raised, and organisations have been invited to apply for grants worth up to £2,000.
“We got very, very lucky to be in the position we’re in. Aside from working hard, we were very lucky to be spotted and taken in by so many people who are fans of the band. And to be in the position we are in now, coming from a small town, there’s obviously not much money there, and people aren’t well off, things are getting more expensive, and people aren’t earning as much, you can see it in our little town,” Moore passionately says.
The frontman continues: “We wanted somewhere where a young person can go to feel safe and just hit the drums or play the guitar because you need money to buy these things. Unfortunately, not everybody has access to it, or access to a safe place for that matter. It feels nice to put something back into Wigan, where people like us could have benefited from it when we was growing up. Also, it was just the right thing to do to put something back into Wigan because we can.”
After Robin Park, the focus will once again shift to making their third album, which is still in development despite the release of ‘No Direction’. While Moore says it’s “probably not going to be this year” when the LP is released, it’s not down to a shortage of material as The Lathums have accrued “plenty enough songs for a few good albums” but “the problem is trying to pick the ones”.
For now, ‘No Direction’ serves as an appetiser before Robin Park as The Lathums prepare to take flight on their biggest headline show to date.
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