Thanks to the inexplicable popularity of my Submit Music page — along with the endless number of releases I get via HumanHuman, Groover and SharePro — I always have a massive digital backlog of albums, EPs, singles and videos awaiting my perusal. Here’s another recent must-hear, along with the Bandcamp link so you can buy the music straight from the source. Tell ’em I sent ya. And if you’ve got something I need to hear, send it my way. If I think you’re half as good as you think you are, I just might include you next time.
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Led by songwriter and guitarist Ben Siddall, The Lodger released a handful of singles and EPs and three studio albums during the latter half of the 2000s, through a variety of esteemed indie labels. The band also enjoyed several headline tours worldwide as well as supporting other Yorkshire acts such as The Long Blondes, featured in many publications and had two Singles of the Week on the BBC.
The band took an indefinite hiatus in 2010. In the interim Ben has concentrated on other musical projects including producing many records for other local bands and a stint playing guitar touring and recording with This Many Boyfriends. In early 2020, still best mates, Ben, Bruce and Joe felt the pull to work on some new songs Ben had written and got together in Bruce’s shed with a handful of mics and spent a few days rehearsing and recording the rhythm tracks to 13 new songs. From March 2020, in isolation, Ben added the guitars, keyboards and vocals in his spare room at home in Ilkley and mixed the final record.”
MY TWO CENTS: Sweetly sunny, gently strummed jangle-pop whose buoyant bounce, warm melodies and vintage vibe are often counterbalanced by bittersweet lyrics laced with regret, disillusionment, disappointment and loss. Really, it’s no wonder — after all, cul-de-sac is really just a fancy name for a dead end. And what else would you expect from a band that shares a name with a novel (and serveral movies) based on Jack The Ripper?
