Lumer

LUMER are a post-punk quartet straddling the line between the past and the present on their debut EP ‘The Disappearing Act’.

The Yorkshire band rail against modern life, and their sound has been supported by BBC Introducing, The Line of Best Fit and Louder Than War among others.

Initially a procrastination project, LUMER don’t waste any time, kicking into the straightforward punk of ‘She’s Innocent’ as an opener, a call to arms for what the four-piece are trying to do.

It’s sonically rough, a noise which pays homage to The Fall or early Joy Division, but still clings tightly in 2021.

It’s not what you would expect from a frontman who modelled for a photography series by Celine’s creative director. Rather than Alex Evans’ modelling, it’s his cathartic lyrics that keep the EP racing through traditional post-punk themes done in a way that makes you feel like they mean it.

‘First Is Too Late’ and ‘White Tsar’ are opportunities for Alex to get political, in the way underground acts of the 80s made targets for Thatcher and Reagan. When Alex sings “Fuck your apologies” on the former, you know you’ll never satisfy him – even when his vocals really hit the spot.

Other tracks are more relationship driven. ‘The Sheets’ shares sonic similarities to the American alternative acts of the past four decades, from Sonic Youth through to The Strokes. It screams out for the mainstream, and likely to be a hit when live shows return.

The EP’s seven tracks offer a scrappy dystopian setting, perfectly encapsulated by the guitars from the two Bens – Jackson on lead, Morrod on bass. Meanwhile the propulsive drums of William Evans honour the vital importance of percussion throughout post-punk history.

The band’s thrashing does its own disappearing act with the gripping finale ‘Another Day At The Zoo’. It could be from another age, if it didn’t cite white privilege, social media, and Alex’s lyrics about “British bombs dropped on minors, but that’s not on Love Island”.

It’s a bleak way to end the EP, but LUMER wouldn’t have had it any other way.

‘The Disappearing Act’ EP out now.