Sienna Bentley

Fresh off their debut UK headline tour, Australian indie rock band Letters to Lions are proving that their resurgence is more than just a comeback story.

The band disappeared from the music scene for seven years – much to the astonishment of their dedicated fanbase – but recently reunited, deciding to do things differently this time around.

After landing on British soil for the first time, we sat down with the guys ahead of their sold-out shows across London, Manchester and Birmingham to discuss the impact that their return has had on them, their audience and their sound.

The UK run marks the globalisation of an already passionate fanbase, marking a defining moment in the band’s new chapter.

Touching down in the UK

After seven years apart, you’re taking your band across the world. What does that milestone mean to you individually and collectively? 

Individually it means something different to all of us. All four of us were in really different stages of our lives when we restarted the band, so a milestone like this hit us all differently.

Some of us have spent time in the UK before, some of us haven’t. Collectively, however, it means everything. It’s affirming that we got the band back together for a reason and people are resonating with what we are doing after all this time and it’s taking us across the world. I think we all had the fear that kicking it off again might be just pissing in the wind, so this feels like it’s more than that.

Is there anything uniquely British that each of you is secretly excited to experience firsthand? 

Adam: Steak Bake from Greggs.

Curtis: Warm pints and a Sunday roast.

Joel: I’m keen to rate the fish and chips and talk about the weather.

Your music has that mix of carefree coastal warmth and emotional punch. Which songs are you most curious to see UK audiences connect with, and why? 

We are excited to see the response to our newer songs; we love the Seven Years EP — the back catalogue has been tried and tested for years, but we are really proud of the newer songs and wrote them with the intention to play them live, so we’re pumped to see people feel that.

If you had to describe what you think your first UK show will feel like, what comes to mind?

We hope it doesn’t differ from any other Letters to Lions show because they are all wild, tight, sweaty and full of energy. 

What’s something UK audiences should know about you that never comes up in interviews? 

Making music post hiatus. We were all involved in other musical projects during our seven-year hiatus, which has influenced the music we have written since getting back together, as well as our approach to the band generally.  

Making music post hiatus

What personal or musical shifts did each of you bring back to the band after time apart? Anything that surprised the others?

Honestly, there are so many it’s hard to list them all. The biggest one is life experience; we all grew up so much in the time apart, most of us moved away, we started families… and that inherently creeps its way back into the music.

You’ve described having a different approach to recording now — less perfectionism, more instinct. Can you think of a moment on the Seven Years EP where this new philosophy changed the song? 

That whole EP is a reflection of that mindset, it’s pretty loose and unhinged at times, especially ‘Malvern Star’ and ‘Counting Zeros’, but that was intentionally unintentional. The mantra was more or less “no redos”, so the parts and sounds everyone came up with on instinct are pretty much what stuck.  

What does your creative process look like? Is there an instigator of chaos among you?

We all live pretty far away from each other so it’s a lot of remote work. Usually Adam or Joel will have an idea and they will make the bones of a demo at Adam’s house, then send it to the other guys and it builds from there until we take it into the studio to record. 

When you were making Seven Years, which song surprised you by going in a direction you didn’t expect? 

Probably ‘Seven Years’, the title track. It’s the most punk-sounding song we’ve written. Adam came up with the intro bass line, which is just two notes, and it was pretty swampy and gross. 

Adam: I remember Joel shaking his head and being like, “that ain’t it”, but I made it my mission to see the song through and now we all love it. I think it was a personal challenge to see how far we could push the sound in that direction and it still feels like an Letters to Lions song. The next record is gonna be heaps different. 

Harsh industry truths

You’ve previously said that you wrote ‘Spare Change’ as a bit of a “fuck you” to people in the music industry taking advantage of young musicians. Can you shed a bit more light on the challenges that particularly emerging and young artists face and why transparency on these issues is so important? 

In short, there are some fucking grubs in the music industry, we’ve seen it happen on countless occasions to our friends and peers. Pricks in the industry, who have been in it for long enough to know the ins and outs of legality, take advantage of young and hungry artists, rinse them for all they have then leave them burnt out with nothing to show for it, and they get away with it. It’s really sad knowing how often this happens, and how much amazing art will never see the light of day because of it.

The song also warns of the dangers of burnout in a demanding industry. How are you doing things differently this time around now that the band is here to stay, and what is one key piece of advice that you’d give to those starting out? 

We all talk about where our heads are at a lot more, and we make it very clear that we have each other’s backs, are all working towards the same goal and there is nothing but love. Touring full time can be super isolating and tiring, and it’s really important to us especially to be on the same page at all times. We also just try to live cleaner and healthier while on the road and at home, which helps immensely.

Looking ahead 

Your comeback shows proved your fanbase never left. What’s a musical risk you’d like to take now that momentum is back on your side? 

Everything we do from here on out is a risk for us, we are still working out ourselves what this new iteration of Letters to Lions is. It’s exciting but also terrifying, and redefining the sound of the band for us has been so fun. We love that the fans are coming along for it. 

If your next project had to be completely different to anything you’ve done thus far, what direction would you take?

Well Seven Years felt pretty rockin’ — I think the next body of work will be something you can dance to. We also love to incorporate more instruments and elements into our music like synths and percussion, so look out for that. 

And on that note, spearheading the band’s new era is a fresh single out just five days ago (almost like we planned it or something).

Following on from the success of their return EP Seven Years, ‘Easy Honey’ sees Letters to Lions lean further into their signature blend of coastal indie and anthemic songwriting.

Adam: This song, in a way, is a follow up to ‘Spare Change’. It’s about our coloured past with the industry and making deals with devils. It’s about us coming out the other side.

You can listen to ‘Easy Honey’ here.