Amongst Liars aiming for 2021 release for debut album

The band features Horsham’s Ian George, lead vocalist and guitarist, alongside members from Eastbourne and Polegate.

The band was formed from the ashes of two bands – Saint Apache and Katalina Kicks.

And now they are hoping to make their mark with that all-important first album.

Band member Leo Burdett, who lives in Eastbourne, is pinning big hopes on it – even though he fears the days of albums might just be numbered.

The band were in a Manchester studio for a couple of weeks in late 2020 recording it.

“We have evolved the album by releasing singles and by trying to find out what kinds of songs are more popular than others and just trying to gauge the reaction, just trying to see where we were going musically. It was good.

“I was furloughed from my job. I managed to write some songs and some riffs, guitar parts at home, and then I was just bouncing like demos to the others. When the shops reopened in July, me and the drummer, the two of us, were allowed into the practice room in Eastbourne where we rehearse.

“We got together for about a month and started writing the album, just guitar and drums. By the time the others came in, we had already got a good start.

“In a way, lockdown helped the process. If lockdown hadn’t happened, there would have been more pressure to be out there playing gigs. I think, like this, there was less pressure and more time to find out what we wanted to do.”

And that has been crucial. As Leo says, the first album is about making first impressions.

“We want the whole thing to be seen as fresh. I want us to come across as a brand-new band. I don’t want to be doing exactly what other bands have done, and I know everyone says that. But I just feel lyrically there are a lot of bands that are just not saying a lot.

“I would say we are a rock band. There are so many sub-genres to rock, and we have elements of a lot of those sub-genres. We have got a bit of a punk side. We have also got a little bit of a pop side. And we can be heavier as well, but the core of the band is riff-based rock.”

Leo expects they will bring the album out in September 2021: “We want to get a couple of singles out off the album before we drop the album. Our next single is going to be in January just to keep the momentum going, a single not off the album. The first single from the album will be in May.

“But there is so much uncertainly. I would love to get the album out right now. I am so excited to show everyone what we have been cooking up, but you have to play the game. If we put the album out and then we can’t tour the album, then it becomes old news.”

Certainly the singles, these days, have to come first – so that you build up interest in the album.

And in that respect, things have changed. Leo remembers fondly being at the record shop at 9am on the day an album was released – an album he wouldn’t know any songs on beforehand. But these days, people digest their songs differently – and you have got to get a few out there first.

“I think I do fear for the future of albums. I feel like a band needs an album to establish itself and get in the press and magazines and get the recognition. Singles are good, but they can’t get you the press.

They need to be attached to an album. But once you have established yourself with an album, then you will be thinking do you need to do another album? EPs and albums are dying off.”

Which is a shame, Leo laments: “I want people to enjoy the album, and I want people to enjoy the album as a single piece of art.”