Interview with Lostboy: ‘We wanted to make an album where people would say “This is what it would sound like live” and it does that’

Sheffield-based band Lostboy will release their debut EP ‘Love Among Angry People’ tomorrow (6 May), giving their take on relationships and the state of the world.

The band comprises Maxwell Clutterbuck (vocals), Ethan Reeves (drums), Henry Robinson (bass) and Jack “Bezza” Berry (lead guitar). They have known each other since secondary school, according to Clutterbuck: ‘I started with music in secondary school, I wasn’t one for the academic stuff and me, Ethan and Henry started making music together,’ he said. Their name turns out to have been inspired by the classic 80’s vampire movie, The Lost Boys, starring Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patrick: ‘I’ve watched it more times than I should, it’s my mum’s favourite film,’ he said. I say it’s a brilliant film. ‘I write songs about people coming of age and feeling “lost”, so the idea of being “lost” boys appealed to me,’ he said.

Interestingly, he came up with the EP title ‘Love Among Angry People’ before he’d even written most of the songs for it: ‘I already had this song fleshed out. It’s that idea of unrest in our country, the love and anger at topics like that, the idea that when someone lashes out at you, it can come from a place of love. It gave it more depth. Some songs are darker than others. Each song is slightly different but based on experiences I’ve had or that friends of mine have had. We wanted to make an album where people would say “This is what it would sound like live” and it does that.’ His voice also sounds quite different across the five tracks and I when I mention it, he agrees: ‘Yeah, my voice is quite different as I go up and down the timbres,’ he said.

‘I wanted a song to open the EP in the best way possible’

The opening track ‘Lover’ opens with a hooky, rolling drum beat: ‘That drum loop, the compound jungly feel, we’d been messing around with it in jam sessions for ages,’ he said. ‘I wanted a song to open the EP in the best way possible. It was written specifically to open the shows. It’s about discomfort in a relationship, when you’re having argument after argument and you’re left to pick up the pieces at the end. It’s about a bad relationship that a mate was going through. Sonically, it’s got a slightly menacing feel. The guitars fade back but then it rumbles away like a volcano at the end. I wanted to give it all guns from the start.’

Typically, Clutterbuck writes the vocals and the acoustic guitar parts and takes it to the rest of the band. ‘Sink’ is based on some graffiti he saw in Cardiff: ‘It’s about getting home safe. The line in the song “keys clenched, she walks ready to run”, I saw that as graffiti. It’s about women getting home safely at night, experiences friends of mine have had. It’s that feeling of no matter how deep you go into a situation, you’re strong enough to pull yourself up, not just the girls close to me but women around the world having that strength, no matter how negative men can make them feel. If I’m writing about something poignant, I like to do it in a way that sounds positive. A sad, sad song has its place but if you can find a way to make it uplifting, I think that’s even better. That graffiti, if I could meet whoever did that, I’d thank them. I like the way the song is brooding and rolls its way through. I wanted Bezza to come into his own with the guitar solo. In all the solos, a lot was ad libbed.’

Other tracks, such as ‘Weight’ also take on social issues, kicking off with a fuzzed up, frenetic riff jetted through a vintage RAT pedal. ‘It was kind of all about my new relationship,’ he said. ‘The girl I’m now with, she’s very conscious about the way we treat the planet, it stresses her out. It weighs on the mind of one of my friends as well, it’s about the “weight of the world” for everyone.’

‘It’s like a spider diagram, it’s about the accumulation of all the ideas’

‘Change’ has a dreamy surf pop vibe at the start and it feels like a natural closer to the album, with an upbeat summery feel, despite the more introspective lyrics. It morphs into something more frenetic, more charged, as the song picks up the pace: ‘The idea was to tie off the knots of the other songs,’ he said. ‘It’s like a spider diagram, it’s about the accumulation of all the ideas, the need to sort ourselves out on a daily basis and make changes that need to happen. It’s saying we need to wake up.’ They’ve also added in samples from the Black Lives Matters protests to bring the message home: ‘We wrote it in the studio, I had no idea how it would sound but I built the EP around it,’ he said. ‘That’s where the line “There’s always love among angry people” comes from. When I heard the song the first time, I could picture myself standing there in awe watching it all going on. It was a moment in the studio that changed the way I write songs. The lyrics came so fast. I had no idea what I was writing but I read them back and they made sense (laughs).’

They have new songs in the pipeline, although they won’t be released before Clutterbuck settles into a new place in Sheffield: ‘Everyone went to uni in Sheffield but we grew up in south Gloucestershire, outside of Bristol, other than Jack, who’s got a Brummie twang (laughs). Everyone is so nice in Sheffield, we feel so welcome here. There’s a great music scene. I love The Reytons, their climb through the ranks has been unparalleled. They’re putting guitars back on the map, it’s so exciting. We’re looking forward to making our mark on that scene. I also really like Oh Papa, they’re almost like folk-inspired indie, Sunday afternoon stuff. We’re big fans.’

His dream line-up would be raucous and energetic: ‘I’m going to have The Strokes play second,’ he said, looking deep in thought. ‘The ‘Phonics first and I’ll get Catfish and the Bottlemen out of hibernation (laughs), then The Reytons. We’ll open with ‘Lover’, we’d set the scene for the rest of the day! I’m picturing this now, wearing the wristband with a Red Stripe in my hand. Can I have The Stone Roses and Oasis? Even if I can’t guarantee that they’ll turn up!’