Scottish five-piece The Lapelles are bringing hope back to Britain’s music industry – or so we think. They’re young, they’re fresh and they’re killing it. Such early days for the band – they’ve only been around for about a year now – and they’ve already scored supporting slots with the likes of The View and The Last Shadow Puppets. Their fanbase is growing more and more each day – they can even call Chloe Grace Moretz a fan now – and it seems that there’s no stopping them anytime soon. FAULT caught up with the group ahead of their supporting slots for Blossoms and The Kooks this weekend and here’s what the boys make of it all.

 

Merely six months ago, you were barely known outside of your hometown. Now, you’ve toured with the likes of Alex Turner and even got Chloe Moretz hooked on your music. Did everything sink in?

Not really. The past few months have been very surreal. A lot of the time we were playing basements and smaller venues in and around Glasgow, it’s quite a jump to go from that to a 2000 capacity theatre.
Up until May we had never even been on a tour before so it’s something we’re slowly starting to get used to!

 

You’ve gone from playing songs by the likes of The View to supporting The Last Shadow Puppets on tour. What did you make of the whole experience?

The past few support slots have been great. It was quite a strange experience as I used to busk a lot of their songs when I was younger; to be playing with them was a whole different level.

 

What’s your story? How did it all come together for you guys so swiftly?

We’ve kind of hit the ground running since the start of this year. Beforehand it would just be a lot of our friends coming to our gigs at Broadcast or The Priory. I think after 2015 more and more people started to become more aware of us and since then word has broken out a lot more. News travels pretty fast in Glasgow!

 

What influences do you each individually bring to the table?

We all have our different influences (Chris is into hip-hop artists like Young Fathers, Jamie is a big Foo Fighters fan, Jack & I are really big Replacements fans, Leon listens to a lot of Two Door Cinema Club and Alt J and I like a lot of surf music) but we meet down the middle with bands like Phoenix, The Vaccines, The Cribs, LCD Soundsystem, Orange Juice and The Jesus & Mary Chain.

 

In an overly saturated industry, how do you plan on making The Lapelles stand out and keep a steady rise to the top?

I think simplicity is the key the majority of the time. If you can write something that is simple and effective at the same time, you end up with something that can really stand out. If you overthink things too much, the whole idea starts to become diluted and completely different from what you originally had in mind.

 

For people who have never heard your music, how would you describe your sound?

Alternative guitar music blended with synth. Like Postcard Records but with a bit more of a bite.

 

What are you currently listening to?

We’ve been listening to a lot of Black Honey in the van lately. I heard about them through Flying Vinyl and have been itching to see them live since!

 

What else is lined up for The Lapelles in 2016?

We’re playing with The Kooks and Blossoms this weekend then a few festivals over the next month (T in The Park, Belladrum, Electric Fields). We’re hoping to release a new song over the upcoming months too.

 

What’s your FAULT?

Procrastinating probably. I get very addicted to Donkey Kong when I’m bored.