February has flown by and the urge to discover the next local punk band has started giving me a tedious itch. Sure – I've tried filling my hunger for the catchy riffs and rebellious vibes elsewhere – but nothing has given me a specific feeling that I haven't experienced in a while. Not until now, of course. Now, my ears have been drawn to the Cheltenham post-punk trio, I, The Lion.
These boys have been in the mix for almost a decade now, and in those fruitful years, they've produced some stellar tracks, toured the UK countless times on a Relentless high, and in general carved a name for themselves as a post-punk band to keep an eye on.
I, The Lion can often be recognised for lyrics that tend to hit a little too close to home. From expressing realism through the power of gravelly voices, I, The Lion holds the mirror up to reality and shows us a world that millions pretend to ignore. But that's punk for you – hard-hitting wordsmiths, a room full of musicians, and a goal to expose reality for what it really is. And, honestly – I, The Lion nail that.
Pushing on a few years since launch and the county has embraced the post-punk lads with open arms. With their two EP's, "Run" and "The Fire " accumulating a wealthy amount of playbacks, I, The Lion has gone on to establish themselves as a go-to trio in not only Cheltenham, but also deep within the United Kingdom post-punk scene, too.
"Amazing" – Kerrang! "Original and captivating" – Punktastic
2020 is in full swing and the ambition to expand as a technical band will continue to flourish. The boys are expected to continue hitting it hard at the studio and more followers are likely to swarm closer to the flame. Until then, we'll be keeping our ears to the ground for the next big step from the Cheltenham lads.
Good work out there, guys.
You can catch the latest single, "Slaves " right here on The Void.
We had the chance to speak with I, The Lion and get a fuller picture of their story.
I, The Lion has been around for almost ten years now – that's impressive! Do you still feel the same passion for the band now as you did on launch?
The passion is definitely still there, but it's different and evolved. When we started our songwriting, performance and general attitude were much more raw. We definitely still have that element but our passion for the band has expanded. For example, we’re really focused on creating the best live experience we can at the moment, such as adding more production to our set, ensuring our performance is the best it can be while still giving it 112%.
We're curious to know about the lyrics behind a lot of your tracks. Although you state yourselves as not being politically driven – would you say there's a message you're trying to get across to listeners?
Our lyrics stem from different places depending on what's happening in our lives at the moment. Sometimes politics affects our writing (Slaves), maybe it's a dead-end job (Escape) or the apple I’m eating a worm in it. It could be anything, but if we feel passionate about it, you’ll hear us belting it out on stage.
As for sounds go – are you aiming to dip into any other genres or collab with other artists in the UK? Or are your roots with punk forever?
We actually have collab’d already for a new track! More details on that will be coming this year, but we’re definitely not afraid to delve into something new. Our punk roots are pretty cemented to the band's core, but we’re always interested in branching out. Arcane Roots did exactly that with their electronic elements later on and it worked so well, and recently we’ve been playing with orchestral elements on future tracks to add a new element to our songwriting.
What're your aims for 2020? Can fans expect another EP? An album, perhaps?
New music. We have an album finished but are deciding on the best way to unveil it. Something we’ve always wanted to do is have a music video for every track, and we already have 3 ready to go, so you can expect new music very very soon.
Where are we able to catch I, The Lion this year? Have you got any dates set in stone for the UK?
No tour dates that we can announce yet, but we’ll definitely be playing around the UK as much as we can! Especially around new singles coming out. For now, our next show is a hometown one to warm up for the year, playing the Frog and Fiddle on March 28th alongside Vampire Money.
Any final sign-off for readers of The Void and followers of the band?
If you’ve been following us or checked us out before, thank you! To anyone we’re unknown to, come chat to us at a show sometime this year. And keep your ear to our socials for announcements.
Whilst we'll be keeping I, The Lion on our radars, we suggest you, readers and listeners alike, to go and drop the band a word of encouragement as they continue to storm the post-punk scene. Oh, and don't forget to check out a few of these social links in order to experience the full power of the trio.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ithelionuk/
Instagram: instagram.com/ithelion
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7gTu06jKl39y44rhBbMI1g
That's all for now Void readers. Here's hoping you might've just found your next sound. And if so, make sure to drop a comment below and consider keeping us close to your chests for future music sources. We'll be sure to deliver on our part.
- Jord Tury
Editor-in-Chief
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