Lonely The Brave’s track-by-track guide to What We Do To Feel

The new Lonely The Brave album is fantastic. But we already told you that last week. So, now you’ve been sitting with it for a little while, here’s the band – vocalist Jack Bennett, guitarists Mark Trotter and Ross Smithwick, bassist Andrew ‘Bush’ Bushen and drummer Gavin ‘Mo’ Edgeley – to tell you more about it. This is What We Do To Feel, in their own words…

Ross: “This song came together very naturally and organically. I remember we had a day or two off on our last tour where we were all together so we put it to good use! I had the main riff written but that’s it. As with a lot of LTB songs that are written in the rehearsal room, we were all vibing off each other. All of the parts were written in an afternoon and then once it came to recording, things were shifted about and rearranged with extra stuff added. Another fun one for the live show.”

Bush: “Started life as a slower, shoegaze-y demo and we weren’t sure where it was going initially. It was the first song for the album we worked on, it’s always tricky getting started on a new project. After a short time thinking about it in the studio, we sped it up and with Mark added the big chords, it suddenly sprung to life. The rest of the parts seemed to fall into place after that and it felt like we were on the way to a new album. That moment is incredibly exciting, The Lens was the out and out rock track that seemed like the gateway to the rest of the record to me.”

Mo: “My absolute favourite from the record. The pinnacle, if you will. The strings and vocals are next level. I kept bothering Jack asking if I’d got the lyrics right. I love this one.”

Mo: “The moodiest song on the record. And probably the angriest. So many depths and layers to this song that I've no idea how it all worked out as well as it did. But it did. And a beautiful screeching guitar finale.”

Ross: “There are a few songs on this record where I had the full structure written, and Colour Me Sad is one of them. As this album was made quite remotely this helped massively to have a few songs fully formed. I recorded everything at home and sent across to Jack where the guys piled in on it, each adding their own thing to the song making it 10 times as good. Then of course there’s the added strings which lift the song even further. There are lots of subtle things going on here, be it vocal lines, guitar parts or strings and I think it has a different energy to the other songs on the album. It also goes hard at the end which is going to be fun to play live.”

Ross: “I love little songs like this one. It’s a short but sweet piece of music and we deliberately made it so. Think it leaves you wanting more, it certainly does me, anyway, which is always a good thing.

“I love the way it builds but without crashing in to something big and heavy which we do on other songs. The production is haunting sounding, as well as Jack’s beautiful vocals towards the end.”

Mark: “This one really went through the ringer. We had the chorus for a while but just couldn’t figure a structure that felt right. At that point, honestly, I wasn’t that taken with it. Next time I came to the studio the guys had put a lot of work into it and something in me clicked with it. I love the fact it remains controlled and doesn’t ever fully crash over and spill. Lyrically lending itself to the album title makes it a stealth favourite for me.”

Bush: “This was an interesting song to tackle – originally an idea that was purely synth based. We thought it had potential but needed a light touch, especially for the end section. The verses and choruses came together nicely, Jack’s vocal melodies are fantastic throughout. I love the way the chorus vocal comes back in over the different chord progression towards the end of the song. It’s definitely one of my favourite bits of music we’ve ever written. I think the strings take it to a different level, as they do for all the tracks they’re on. Something new for us and they topped the album off perfectly in my opinion.”

Mark: “I remember coming into the studio one day and Jack playing the opening piano riff that would become Unseen and being instantly drawn to it. There’s a beauty and simplicity in Jack’s playing, coupled with the haunting vocal line and then the layers that the rest of us added. One of my favourites from the record this one.”

Jack: “Lyrically, is about the time when our dog – who is, in fact, a bear – had to visit the vets for a procedure which basically meant he was going to have to be put under anaesthetic. The risk seemed pretty high of him not pulling through at his age, so we were all prepared for the worst. But essentially, he didn’t need to go through with it! So I wrote the lyrics, as a ‘what if he didn’t make it?’ type of thing. When I think it’s so important to write what you care about, with purpose – I can honestly say I care about our animals the most.”

What We Do To Feel is out now via Easy Life. Lonely The Brave will tour the UK next February.

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