The Luka State’s eagerly anticipated new album ‘More Than This’ is out now. A body of work that mixes influences spanning alt-rock, indie, punk and rock ‘n’ roll, the album is a state-of-the-nation address which explores issues including social inequality, mental health battles and addiction - all told from a very personal perspective. But amidst the turmoil, it’s an album in which hope for a better future is a recurring motif.
The album’s previous singles have earned airplay from Daniel P Carter at Radio 1, BBC Music Introducing, 6 Music, Danielle Perry at Absolute Radio, Amazing Radio and XS Manchester as well as wide tastemaker acclaim. Earlier this week, the band also earned praise from an artist renowned for blending uncompromising guitar music with a vehement social message - the Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave legend Tom Morello and Joe Lycett called the album “fierce” and “passionate”.
Vocalist / guitarist Conrad Ellis says, “This album is a rebirth for us. Like every other band, we want to take over the world, but we want our message to be heard. No one out there must feel alone. There’s a way through everything and we can do it together. We can take over the world together.”
The new song ‘Losing Streak’ encapsulates a range of what The Luka State have to offer with the ‘More Than This’ album. Its ferocious, granite-heavy riff pulls no punches, but its aggression is balanced by the band’s love of an enticing melody. The song’s themes also find the equilibrium between a dichotomy, with Conrad being brutally honest about his mental health struggles, but also showing to people with similar issues that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.
Conrad adds, “‘Losing Streak’ is a documentation of exactly where I was at around the time I wrote it. It follows where my mental health was at: self-medication with substances and going off the rails. My mental health was so poor, but I came out the other side. This song is for those who need it, those who have suffered through trauma or substance abuse or addiction or depression. It’s ok to talk about those things. There’s always a way through it.”
The album’s other new material offers plenty for fans to delve into, taking into pummelling post-punk anxiety with ‘Tightrope (Walking On A Wire)’, the main stage festival-scale slowburner ‘Swimming Backwards’, the angular attack of ‘Metamorphosis’ and melodic punk with ‘Change’. The album’s journey comes to an end with an unexpected twist on the band’s sound on ‘Movies’. A plaintive acoustic ballad with sweet, swirling vocal harmonies, it ends the record on a high with the simple message that love can conquer many of life’s challenges.
Completed by Sam Bell (bass, vocals), Lewis Pusey (guitar) and Jake Barnabas (drums), The Luka State are four childhood friends who grew-up in Winsford, Cheshire. Located a short distance from both Liverpool and Manchester, it’s a working class town which has inspired the themes behind the album - the struggles and hopes of its people being reflected in similar towns right across the country. Matching their words with action, The Luka State have consistently supported TheTrussell Trust throughout the album campaign, donating a meal for each gig ticket and album sold, as well as donating the budget for their ‘More Than This’ video direct to the charity and organising a GoFundMe.
The band released their self-funded debut album ‘Fall In Fall Out’ in the midst of the pandemic. Being unable to tour an album they had waited their lives to release, the band looked inwards to write a huge catalogue of new songs as a form of lockdown escapism. Those frustrations were channelled into sessions at The Motor Museum in Liverpool with producers Dan Austin(You Me At Six, Pixies) and the Grammy Award-winning Adrian Bushby (Foo Fighters, Muse).
The Luka State will celebrate the release of ‘More Than This’ by embarking upon a record store tour, which starts tonight with a homecoming appearance at The Electric Church in Winsford. The band then embark upon a UK and Europeanheadline tour which commences later this month. The album will also be the subject of #TimsTwitterListeningParty at 8pm next Wednesday, March 15th.
MARCH - RECORD STORE TOUR
10th - Winsford, The Electric Church
11th - London, Banquet Records
12th - Nottingham, Rough Trade
13th - Leeds, Crash Records
14th - Sheffield, Record Junkee
15th - Liverpool, Jacaranda
MARCH - HEADLINE TOUR
23rd - Birmingham, Rainbow
24th - Bristol, Crofters
25th - Southampton, Heartbreakers
30th – London, Camden Assembly
31st - Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club
APRIL - HEADLINE TOUR
6th - Aberdeen, Tunnels
7th - Dundee, Church
8th - Glasgow, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
12th - Hamburg, Hakken
13th - Cologne, Helios37
14th - Berlin, Maschinenhaus
15th - Amsterdam, Paradise Bitterzoet
18th – Paris, Supersonic
21st - Manchester, Academy 3
