As undeniably great as their superb 2011 debut album was, you wouldn’t have expected Newcastle’s Lanterns on the Lake to construct one of the most astute political songs of recent times.
On ‘Another Tale From Another English Town’, Hazel Wilde delicately croons in her best Liz Fraser/ Cocteau Twins-inspired warble, “It’s getting hard to breathe round here, to think round here. And we’ve been sold a thousand lies this year. We just wanted the quiet, the quiet life. But they won’t stop till they see us in the ground. Until they see us in the ground.”
The chorus repeats the refrain “We don’t wanna fight, we want the quiet life.” It’s a remarkable protest song with a twisted difference, bristling with the kind of sad resignation that comes from living under grey skies with heavy hearts for far too long. It’s unmistakably English, yet they sound absolutely nothing like any of their contemporaries.
On their first album, Gracious Tide, Take Me Home, Lanterns on the Lake hovered somewhere between Sigur Ros, the aforementioned Cocteau Twins, Arcade Fire and Belle & Sebastian. They found an apt home in Bella Union, a label ran by former Cocteaus Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie. Now, they’ve put their foot down on the effects pedal a bit more to deliver a noisier, much more vibrant and lively record.
Lanterns on the Lake are one of the most underrated bands in the world today. Please check them out, because music this good quite simply has to be heard.

Key Track: 'The Buffalo Days'