Lost In Transition - The Lost Brothers Interview

It started with a gift. Finished promoting their third album, The Passing Of The Night, The Lost Brothers returned to their adopted home of Liverpool for a show that would act like a “clean slate”, as they searched for the spark to fire their next project.

“There were maybe eight people at the gig,” Mark McClausland recalls. “But most of them were The Coral! The next day, Nick Power from the band sent us a couple of songs and said, ‘if you want these, take them’.”
Oisin Leech, McClausland’s partner in the group, points to Power’s ‘Hotel Loneliness’ as setting a standard for which they would strive. That song would later nestle alongside 11 of their own on New Songs Of Dawn And Dust.
The Coral’s involvement didn’t end there. Leech and McClausland are a duo keen never to repeat themselves and that instinct was only amplified following The Passing Of The Night, which they felt was the closing chapter in a trilogy of records. Moving forward, they ended up bringing together some old friends.
They were joined in studio not only by Power but also Bill Ryder-Jones. The guitarist who left The Coral in 2008 agreed to head up production.
Leech says having the pair filtering the 30 songs or so they had amassed, and their mere presence in the studio, made the process feel like a new beginning.
“We were fascinated to see what would happen bringing these songs to Bill. We made the bulk of the record in three days because Mark and I had prepared so much. Then Bill would go in the live room and add his magic dust. Even watching that was amazing. He’d sit on the ground with his legs crossed, go into a completely different world and just run take after take...
“For a while he didn’t want to go near a guitar but luckily we got him with it. He’s loving the guitar. Bill and Nick have been playing with each other since they could crawl, so just them two being in a room together was amazing. They probably don’t even realise it. It was like we were a proper band.”
Leech and McClausland admit that their own playing relationship is almost telepathic, with McClausland laughing that “we make the same mistakes” on stage. That close-knit chemistry helped when the pressure was on.
“Everyone only had seven days free because Nick and Bill were busy with their projects too,” McClausland explains. “And we were so worried about time. For the first four days, the four of us were like four crazed pilots in the cockpit!”
The ‘cockpit’ itself was Parr Street Studios in Liverpool, a city near and dear to The Lost Brothers’ hearts.
“We lived there for 10 years,” says Leech. “That’s where we met. It kind of hits you like a thunderbolt when you go back. There’s just so much energy there.”
“It still feels like home,” admits McClausland. “It’s weird. You’ll be away and then go back there and walk down the street and people are just like ‘all right?’ They don’t even realise you’ve been gone for years!
“We came full circle. We left Liverpool in 2008 went and made three albums in Portland, Nashville and Sheffield. Then we came back to our old home to start this next cycle. I can’t say how big a deal it was for us working with Bill and Nick, and it was great fun. A few teary-eyed moments too.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as much in the studio,” concludes Leech. “It was just hilarious. I don’t know if any of that comes over on it... It’s more about the present and looking forward, this album. The last one was definitely nostalgic. I don’t think this is.”

News Songs Of Dawn And Dust is out now. The Lost Brother are now on tour, check hotpress.com for details