London based LULS craft bassy, distortion drenched indie pop music with huge anthemic choruses. Here’s what happened when Wonderland caught up with them to discuss the tears, the touring and the release of their new single, ‘Swing Low’.

How are you feeling about the release of your debut?

We are feeling really good about it. The songs just sort of happened, which I think is the best way a song can come about; too much over analysing and they always end up sounding a bit forced. I think we actually wrote ‘Swing Low’ the week before we were set to record, so there weren’t months of fiddling with the structure and second guessing the parts. ‘Young’ was the same, 90% of the vocals, guitars and bass were taken from the original demo we recorded in my bedroom, which I think helped keep it sounding and feeling fresh to us.

How did LULS happen?

I first saw Adam playing in a mutual friend’s band. He looked like the scariest guy I’d ever seen – this huge bearded guy, all in black, playing this trashed bass. It wasn’t till maybe a year later that we were actually properly introduced and I was shocked to discover this big cuddly bear of a man. We started writing together for the first time summer last year and it’s been an emotional ride. I’m not ashamed to admit Adam has held me as I cried like a child in the wasteland that is my bedroom.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

We spend a lot of time listening to super overproduced American pop, instant gratification music. Hopefully our internal filters can decipher the bullshit from the great bits. The odd thing about that stuff is that whilst it’s the world’s most commercial music, it’s actually often really weird. ‘Beez In The Trap’ is pretty much just a beat and vocal all the way through. That’s pretty forward thinking.

Are you looking forward to the tour with Spector and Swim Deep?

Definitely! Outside of being big fans of both those bands, Spector and their crew are just great guys, so it should be a massively fun time. One of the shows is on Halloween – there’s talk of all the bands dressing up. We’ve got this idea, but it’s pretty full on. Our worry is that although everyone else is saying they are going to dress up, they won’t. Then we’ll be that guy at the party who’s worked really hard on his costume when everyone else has just put on a hat.

There’s a pretty quick turn around of bands at the moment. Do you think that this is a good thing or does it put too much pressure on bands to release albums quickly?

I would say it’s probably a necessary thing. Bands can generate a lot of interest quite quickly, post a few good demos online and people will take notice. However, that interest can be lost just as fast, so you’ve really got to capitalise on it as best you can.

Who are your favourite bands at the moment?

I’ve pretty much listened to the same 5-10 bands exclusively for the last 5 years, so I’ve become reliant on a few close friends who drip feed me new music. I think it’s a really good time to be a new band in the UK, loads of great stuff is happening: Peace, Alt-J, Temples, Palma Violets, Gabriel Bruce, Pale.

After the single release, what’s next for LULS?

Pretty much straight after this release we are off on tour, following that I think we’ll be gearing up for the next single. After that who knows, fingers crossed some touring, maybe an album… I’ll be happy as long as I get to leave my bedroom and not return for weeks at a time.

Swing Low / Young comes out today. lulsofficial.tumblr.com

Words: Katie Wilkinson