New Band of the Week: Rum Lad

Yorkshire-based indie-punk duo Rum Lad offer up a feisty soundtrack for the working class in a “council estate music” sound that they describe as “honest, angry and sincere.”

Rum Lad started out as the solo project of Richie Tyler, who released his debut album Vandalism in 2020 then two more albums in the next two years. But, after playing at Rebellion Festival last year, Richie decided on the spot, with a few reservations about becoming “another band swimming in a sea of other bands,” that he needed to expand. That saw the arrival of Maltby-based drummer James Finlayson, which Richie says has the band “back to being unique.”

And on the sound the duo have honed, Richie says: “Fuzzed up, hard-hitting, modern punk with hugely melodic overtones.”

Our latest taste of this is Rum Lad’s fourth album, but first as a duo, Rude Awakening, which was released last month. The album opens up with the excellent U.K. Violence, which opens up with a laid-back intro feeding into a drawn-out lick and driving drums supporting Richie’s engaging vocals. That flows into a catchy chorus with repeats of “UK violence, It’s all the rage, We never learned our lessons, We never turned the page.” Check it out in the video here:

That’s followed by the intriguing The Truth, which showcases a more indie-based sound with engaging chorus vocals following the more intense verse. Third track Graft is a real highlight, opening up with a trademark laid-back lick flowing into Richie’s engaging, edgy vocals. That continues into a superb chorus beginning “They don’t see the point in grafting, ’cause grafting keeps you poor.” A second chorus drops into rolling drums, then shouty vocals feed into another chorus and a lively outro with repeats of “I’m sick of going without.”

If Rum Lad create council estate music, then the delicious The Tale Of Alan Taylor has to be considered a council estate ballad. The intensity steps up a notch with the title track then the superb White Noise, which opens up with laboured, fuzzy guitars and laid-back drums. Richie comes in with deep vocals answered by heavier retorts then a funky little guitar lick feeds into powerful vocals “It’s a beautiful expression, A smile upon your face, A beautiful expression, To leave without a trace, You’re tired, you’re tired, Your head is feeling wired, You’re tired, you’re tired, Your head is feeling wired, Your mind is full of tension, The thoughts on the TV, Your mind is full of tension, It never sets you free, You’re high, you’re high, Your mind is in the sky, You’re high, you’re high, A devastated child.” An instrumental section flows into another chorus that cuts short with repeats of the line “You’re contemplating suicide.” Check it out here:

It goes a whole lot more upbeat and feisty with Your Opinions Mean Shit To Me, which opens up with the shouted lines “The system means shit to me, This country means shit to me, Politicans means shit to me, Television means shit to me” before a lively chorus. And the album wraps up with more punky goodness, including the excellent Office Boy and engaging final track Bad Things.

On the album, Richie tells us: “The reception has been mad, it’s the first one we’ve recorded as (a duo) and people have been telling us how pleased they are that it’s gone back to the signature Rum Lad sound. I wasn’t aware I had one, but fuzzed-up bass on the tracks is a must! As is delayed up to death, weird lead sections.

“It tells the truth, it talks about genuine social issues and the mental health problems that come hand in hand with that. We’re both council estate lads who know what it’s like to go through genuine hard times. We’ve both lost important people too, so we’ve seen a lot of sides to life that aren’t always pretty. We try to speak for everyone just trying to get through everyday life.”

Away from the new album, we also love the sound of Tory Boy, which starts with the line “Fuck off Tory Boy,” and Football, the opening track on last year’s Chat Shit Get Banged. The latter opens up by brilliantly listing legendary footballers starting “George Best, Jimmy Greaves, Zinedine Zidane, Bergkamp, Zola, Kevin Keegan” then cries of “Maradona” before a chorus “Take it in your stride, Push it to the side, Put it in the corner, Zombies.” If this isn’t England’s soundtrack for Euro 2024, then we simply aren’t interested. Check it out here:

The Rum Lad sound draws on a wide range of influences, from Joy Division and PJ Harvey to Black Francis, Interpol and Nirvana.

And on what inspires them to write music, Richie explains: “Social issues, unfairness which is a big subject for me personally, mental health. We describe it as council estate music and that wouldn’t be far off the mark. People are just trying to get by, life’s difficult for most and we try and relate to those people and write music that talks about how hard it is to just get on and live.”

Rum Lad just played big shows at Crapfest in Liverpool and another Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. They’re now in the process of refining their live set, starting work on their next album and are on the lookout for more gigs throughout the rest of the year. And, of course, there’s plenty more music to get stuck into with three previous albums.

And Richie adds: “If you see us about come and have a natter. We like meeting good people with stories to tell and with good opinions on the world in general, so don’t be shy, come and say hello!”

You can follow Rum Lad on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.