Music fans of a certain vintage will recall a pop revolution from Scotland in the 1980s, with acts like Wet Wet Wet, Lloyd Cole and Del Amitri making catchy, chart-friendly sounds.
All of which meant that the arrival of James King and the Lonewolves was a little mistimed, this band of misfits perhaps rather better suited to the post-punk movement from a few years earlier which saw acts like Josef K and Scars cement their place in cult mythology – although the Lonewolves’ sinister Americana-influenced compositions truly set the band aside as stateless misfits.
Despite these obstacles their undoubted talent meant that the only thing standing in the path to greatness was the band themselves… and so it passed, following single releases on the Virgin Records, a profanity-ridden appearance on The Old Gray Whistle Test saw multiple viewer complaints and London Records disposing with their services. An album recorded with the Velvet Underground’s John Cale never saw the light of day.
Fast forward to 2011, and a reconstituted Lonewolves played a memorial show for former agent Alan Mawn. Bolstered by an enthusiastic reception, the band returned to the studio to record an EP, and then in 2014, the aptly-titled ‘Lost Songs of the Confederacy’, finally appeared.
Now, ten long years in the making, James King & The Lonewolves return with ‘The Mortality Arcade’, a thematic collection of songs, based around how one copes with loss, whether lost love or grieving for friends and family.
That second, decade-long hiatus is explained by personal events, members leaving and an aborted attempt at recording the album, leading to frustration within the band, partially resolved when original bassist, Colin McNeill, returned to the fold.
Having been impressed by his track record, The Lonewolves asked Johnny Smillie – Glasgow-based guitarist with Monica Queen’s Thrum and now a sought-after recording engineer – to produce the album. Over many months the album took on a cohesive and unique sonic template, but still retained the Lonewolves essence, taking in elements like Rolling Stones-esque guitars and Everly Brothers-inspired harmonies for a wide-ranging set of rock ‘n’ roll, country, blues and soul.
The result is truthful, painful and honest document of The Lonewolves at the height of their powers.
‘The Mortality Arcade’ itself is out now on CD, vinyl and download formats, plus exclusive bundles, from Last Night From Glasgow in partnership with Stereogram Recordings.
This article originally appeared in the Edinburgh News.
Also chief newshound at Jockrock
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