Wigan band The Lathums aiming for number one as debut album release day approaches

How Beautiful Life Can Be, due for release September 24, brings together the band's best work from the first chapter of their career.

The four-piece formed in 2019, and is comprised of Alex Moore, Ryan Durrans, Johnny Cunliffe and Scott Concepcion, who met in college.

Lead singer Moore said: “The album is looking really good, I have hope in my heart it will get a number one. It would be a really nice accolade, we would have a really big party, but in bed with a brew by ten.

“If we don’t, it won't be detrimental because I hope we will have a long illustrious career in music.”

A range of influences were explored by the band while writing the album, with some of them potentially raising a few eyebrows.

“There is plenty of new stuff. People will not be expecting some of it because of what they’ve heard from us up until now. It’s good not to pigeon hole yourself by sticking with one thing. I enjoy different kinds of songs, so it is better to keep people guessing.

“We have some mad songs which I am really excited for everyone to hear. We made the best of what we could at the time, doing whatever we could. We were lucky that we had the opportunity to go into the studio to build a bit of a catalogue.”

Drummer Durrans agreed, adding: “I think we have evolved as a band, to get better music. We have grown up and matured, and so has our stuff. The album sort of fell into place, we built it with what was needed.”

Moore says they had a huge pool of songs they could’ve selected, with Fight On, The Great Escape and I See Your Ghost included, alongside new tracks.

“There were so many songs to choose from. We had some which I had written ages ago, and others I finished in the studio. We tried to use the ones which best represented us and the journey we have been on.”

“Due to not being on tour we have had a lot of time to prepare. There weren't loads to write about because we couldn’t leave the house but managed to get a good few new songs.

“People listen to our music as a kind of escape and something to confide in. For me, I use music as therapy to get away from the world.”

To celebrate the release of their debut album, a hometown show at The Monaco was announced for the same day.

The band continue to be based in Wigan, with Durran saying they’re happy to be at its heart.

He said: “It’s where we come from, it’s our home, so we want to do everything we can to improve it, even if it’s just by lifting people’s moods.”

Moore agreed, saying: “It’s a nice community. There has been loads of love and loads of support, it’s quite humbling."

On the back of the album release, the four-piece will head on a huge UK tour, which comes not long after they finished supporting Blossoms at venues including Manchester AO Arena.

The band have also made several festival appearances, including Tramlines in Sheffield and Neighbourhood Weekender in Warrington.

Moore said: “We couldn’t wait to get back out there, because it had been so long. It’s been a weird time. It’s cool playing in Arenas, but it’ll be better when we’re headlining. It feels sick when it is packed, it shows we have a real loyal and solid fanbase.

Durrans interjects: “Tramlines was belting too. The crowd was a bit patchy before we went on, but I looked up after the first song and it was full, I couldn’t see the food bits at the back.”

Lead guitarist Concepcion was also keen to point out: “We did Kentish (London O2 Forum Kentish Town) when we were with Blossoms, and less than a month later we are doing it on our own.”

A lot of the Lathums’ headline shows have taken a huge jump in venue size since the original announcements prior to the first national lockdown in 2020.

Moore said: “It would never have happened if the world was normal. We have upgraded without playing, it is just the way of the world. I’m just looking forward to going through it all from start to finish, I want to experience everything we have been missing out on.”

“There have been a few weird things that have happened, we just have to keep going with it, appreciating what we have now and what we will experience.

“It is always a relief to play, even before there was the factor of things being pulled at any point. We want to do what we can and see where life takes us.”

One of the standout dates is a sold out show at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse, which holds over 3,000 people, as well as trips to places including Sheffield and Glasgow.

Durran said: “Victoria Warehouse will be good, we went the other day and it was huge. It’s the biggest northern date. We did it so we didn't have to do a load of smaller ones.

“I went past a rave there and the amount of people flooding out was mad, now we’ve been told we’re playing it and it sold out so quick.”

“There are a few that are going to be mega. We are playing Barrowlands too which will be huge. It will be good being in the van and this will be our first tour bus, with a kitchen and everything.”

The band declare that while they are keeping an eye on the future, they want to live for the moment and enjoy this moment.

Moore said: “We will celebrate the victories of course and acknowledge them, but because we had such a backlog of songs even before this album, we just have a lot of work to do just sorting it out.

“We have the tunes, we just need to put them together for another album. We will keep our eyes focussed on where we are at now. You can't look too far in the future because it is rather unpredictable.”