Next Wave Class Of 2014: Lucius

G'wan, brighten up your dull winter...

If you’re finding yourself in dire need of an antidote to brighten up this grey and endless English winter, you may need to look no further than Lucius, whose debut album ‘Wildewoman’ is packed with immaculate ’60s girl-band harmonies, souring melodies and stomping percussion. The message of these New Yorkers is clear: it will all be all right in the end.

Clash speaks to Jess Wolfe, one-half of an incredibly powerful vocal duo (the other being her best friend Holly Laessig). Heart-warmingly positive from the off, she explains the concept of their album to Clash.

“The song ‘Wildewoman’ was written first, and we were just recognising all the women we were surrounding ourselves with, who were real strong, pave-your-own-way, carve-out-your-destiny women. I think that Holly and I both struggled in our youth with feeling alone and not really having a community, but at the same time we were never hesitant or unsure of ourselves personally. We just felt like the album encapsulates that essence; that feeling of being a strong person and coming out in a positive way over negative experiences.”

There’s no doubt that it does. It’s a colourful album at the very least, filled with songs that ooze nostalgia and the sort of positivity that can only come from lessons learned. We wonder if the liveliness of the album comes from living in a place like New York.

“Absolutely,” she says, animated. “You’re constantly being overloaded with information, which can be overwhelming, but I think there’s no place in the world where so many people are doing so many artistic things. It’s impossible not to be inspired, if you want to be.”

Jess’s preoccupation with inspiration in life and ideas about destiny seeps into her work ethic: “When you’re doing something like this it’s all or nothing. It’s such a commitment and you can’t look back. Nothing else would have happened, it was supposed to happen.” 

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WHERE: Brooklyn

WHAT: Infectious, bright and nostalgia-dipped indie

GET 3 SONGS: ‘How Loud Your Heart Gets’, ‘Tempest’ (video above), ‘Wildewoman’

FACT: Holly and Jess first met at a party during university 10 years ago and started by rearranging tunes from The Beatles’ ‘White Album’.

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Words: Daisy Jones
Photo: Neil Bedford

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