Interview with Attic Theory: ‘The human brain is like an attic’

Liverpool-based groove rock band Attic Theory brought out a rocky ballad, ‘Your Light’ at the end of last month, with a new EP scheduled for release on 27 November.

The band comprises Lew Wright (vocals), his brother-in-law Matt Lawler (guitar), Tim Cunningham (guitar/backing vocals), Matt Simon (drums), Kenneth McArthur (bass) and Peter Donnelly (guitar).

‘Our drummer is amazing on ‘Your Light”, he’s the engine of the band,’ said Wright. We tried to make it the best ballad we could. Tim had this lightbulb moment with the intro riff. I wrote it about my future wife because she’s always there for me, she’s my shining star. Even the brightest star needs love and support, it’s about how a relationship should be, looking after your partner and showing them love.’

The lyrics reflect that: ‘I will always catch you falling, even hold up the sky, whenever you are lonely, please don’t cry. I’m forever yours. You have always been mine. You have a pull, a pull over me, pulled into orbit like gravity.’

‘The human brain is like an attic’

The inspiration behind the name Attic Theory comes from an episode of Elementary, a CBS television series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories with contemporary twists, starring Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Watson.

As Wright explains: ‘It’s my favourite show! In an episode of the show, Sherlock states that the human brain is like an attic. A storage space for facts but because that space is finite, it must be filled only with the things you need to be the best version of yourself. We thought this was fitting with everything that was going on and decided it was time to leave the past in the past – new name, new beginning.’

In their own words, Attic Theory ‘rose from the ashes of three former bands, Matchstickmen, Rain May Fall and Limehawk. The remaining members of Matchstickmen, Wright and Donnelly, were joined by guitarists Cunningham (Rain May Fall) and Lawler, McArthur on bass and Simon (Limehawk/Guns N’ Roses Tribute – Guns2 Roses) on drums. Attic Theory were crowned ‘Best new band’ at Planet Rock Radios, ‘The Rocks 2020’ awards earlier this year.

‘It’s basically about when you’ve gone through life and followed all the rules and it turns out it was all for nothing’

The upcoming EP, The Active Mind (another reference to Sherlock Holmes), will comprise 6 tracks, including ‘Your Light’ and “Cold Hard Reality’, which Wright describes as ‘having a different feel to the other songs’: ‘It’s basically about when you’ve gone through life and followed all the rules and it turns out it was all for nothing, you’ve been stabbed in the back – the rage that you feel. It’ll shock you! It’s got a punk disco vibe. It’s high energy.’

Typically, the band writes as a collective, Wright said, although he is making a conscious decision not to write any songs about lockdown as there already so many of them out there. ‘I’ll put something to Garageband and send it around as an MP3. I like to get the feel of the song, so I start with the chorus. As Joe Perry (founding member of Aerosmith) said: “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus!” I have a note of ramblings in my phone!’

Since forming in 2017, the band have performed a selection of high profile support slots for Terrorvision, the Soapgirls, Saving Abel, Psycho Village, Tragedy, Derange and Seattle legends Candlebox and have performed at Rock N’ Roll Marathons, Biker Festivals and horror and tattoo conventions across the country.

Wright says he’s ‘more of a grunge disciple’, citing Stone Temple Pilots Pearl Jam and Nirvana as some of his all-time favourite bands. He’s also a fan of Seattle-based rock band Candlebox. ‘Tim likes Alice in Chains, Kenny likes Periphery (an American progressive metal band from Washington D.C.) Matt likes any music from before I was born, so bands like Toto!’ If he could tour with anyone, he goes for Stone Temple Pilots and Candlebox, with whom they have played.

He moved to Liverpool from London when he was ten years old and considers the city his real home: ‘I’m proud to say I’m from Liverpool. I’m the black sheep of the family. My parents are proper scousers but I have an amalgamation of both accents. I speak properly, as my mother would say!’

(Photo from left to right: Matt, Tim, Lew, Kenny and Peter)