The Lodger (band)
Encyclopedia
For other groups with similar names, see Lodger
.
The Lodger are an indie pop
band from Leeds
, England
, formed in 2004.
offered to put out a single on the basis of demos that Ben Siddall recorded in his bedsit, the band name inspired by his accommodation. The initial line-up was Siddall on guitar and vocals with Lisa Harker on bass
and Katie James on drums
. After 3 sold-out limited 7"s ("Many Thanks For Your Honest Opinion" on Dance to the Radio
, "Watching" on Double Dragon
, and "Let Her Go" on Angular Records) and touring around the UK and Europe with bands such as The Long Blondes
and The Research
, the group released their debut album Grown-Ups, produced by Alan Smyth
and James Ford
, in June 2007 on Angular Records in the UK, Slumberland Records
in the US, Fabtone in Japan and Speak N Spell in Australia. By this time Harker and James had left the band, to be replaced by Joe Margetts and Bruce Renshaw.
Critical acclaim for the album followed, drawing comparisons with Orange Juice
, The Wedding Present
, and Heavenly,and it was rated at number 4 in This Is Fake DIY
's Albums of 2007. The band have featured heavily on the elbo.ws
charts since the release along with heavy rotation on US college radio and other stations worldwide. The album was voted as 62nd best of 2007 on www.amazon.com
and 95th in Woxy.com's Top 97 of '07. The Lodger recently completed their first tour of the USA in late 2007 and then entered the studio to record their 2nd album in November. The 2nd album is titled Life Is Sweet and was released in May 2008, again to a positive critical reaction.
The Guardian
described the band early on in their career: "Imagine a more bitter and twisted Housemartins
, or early James
".
Lodger
Lodger may refer to:* Lodger , a 1979 art rock album by David Bowie* Lodger , a Finnish indie rock band* Lodger , a short-lived supergroup comprising members of Powder, Supergrass, and Delicatessen...
.
The Lodger are an indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band from Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, formed in 2004.
History
The Lodger formed in 2004, after Leeds label Dance to the RadioDance to the radio
Dance To The Radio is an independent record label co-founded by Whiskas of Les Flames and ¡Forward, Russia! in 2004.It was named after the refrain of the Joy Division song "Transmission"...
offered to put out a single on the basis of demos that Ben Siddall recorded in his bedsit, the band name inspired by his accommodation. The initial line-up was Siddall on guitar and vocals with Lisa Harker on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and Katie James on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. After 3 sold-out limited 7"s ("Many Thanks For Your Honest Opinion" on Dance to the Radio
Dance to the radio
Dance To The Radio is an independent record label co-founded by Whiskas of Les Flames and ¡Forward, Russia! in 2004.It was named after the refrain of the Joy Division song "Transmission"...
, "Watching" on Double Dragon
Double Dragon
is a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Kunio-kun series ....
, and "Let Her Go" on Angular Records) and touring around the UK and Europe with bands such as The Long Blondes
The Long Blondes
The Long Blondes were a five-piece English indie rock band formed in Sheffield, United Kingdom in 2003 by Dorian Cox , Reenie Hollis , Emma Chaplin , Kate Jackson and Screech Louder .After several critically...
and The Research
The Research
The Research were a band from Wakefield, England. The members were : Russell 'The Disaster' Searle , Georgia Lashbrook , and Sarah Williams...
, the group released their debut album Grown-Ups, produced by Alan Smyth
Alan Smyth
Alan Smyth is a music producer from Sheffield, England. He has worked with a number of bands, including Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Reverend and The Makers, The Long Blondes, Milburn, Richard Hawley, Dead Like Harry, Smokers Die Younger, Monkey Swallows the Universe, Little Man Tate, 65daysofstatic,...
and James Ford
James Ford (musician)
James Ford is an English musical composer, record producer and musician.-Biography:Ford was a founding member of the group Simian and currently a member of their spin-off duo Simian Mobile Disco...
, in June 2007 on Angular Records in the UK, Slumberland Records
Slumberland Records
Slumberland Records is an American independent record label formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C. area and currently based in Oakland, CA. The label has released recordings from artists including Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, St...
in the US, Fabtone in Japan and Speak N Spell in Australia. By this time Harker and James had left the band, to be replaced by Joe Margetts and Bruce Renshaw.
Critical acclaim for the album followed, drawing comparisons with Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
, The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present are a British indie rock group based in Leeds, England, formed in 1985 from the ashes of the Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, Buzzcocks and Gang of Four to more varied forms...
, and Heavenly,and it was rated at number 4 in This Is Fake DIY
This Is Fake DIY
This Is Fake DIY is a United Kingdom-based music webzine dedicated to alternative music. It is named after a song by the Scottish alternative rock group Bis....
's Albums of 2007. The band have featured heavily on the elbo.ws
Elbo.ws
elbo.ws is an online feed aggregator that aggregates music blogs exclusively. It detects links to mp3 files and then extracts the id3 tags from the mp3 files....
charts since the release along with heavy rotation on US college radio and other stations worldwide. The album was voted as 62nd best of 2007 on www.amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
and 95th in Woxy.com's Top 97 of '07. The Lodger recently completed their first tour of the USA in late 2007 and then entered the studio to record their 2nd album in November. The 2nd album is titled Life Is Sweet and was released in May 2008, again to a positive critical reaction.
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described the band early on in their career: "Imagine a more bitter and twisted Housemartins
The Housemartins
The Housemartins were an English indie pop band that was active in the 1980s. Many of the Housemartins' lyrics were a mixture of Marxist politics and Christianity, reflecting singer Paul Heaton's beliefs at the time .-Formation:The band was formed in late 1983 by Paul Heaton and...
, or early James
James (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
".
Band members
- Ben Siddall: vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards
- Joe Margetts: bass guitar
- Bruce Renshaw: drums, percussion
- Timothy Corbridge: lap steel, rhythm guitar
Albums
- Grown-Ups (May 2007) (CD/LP/download album - released in various countries through Fabtone, Angular Recording CorporationAngular Recording CorporationAngular Recording Corporation is an independent record label originally based in New Cross, South East London. Set up in June 2003 by two ex-Goldsmiths College students, Joe Daniel and Joe Margetts, who reclaimed a local Ordnance Survey Triangulation Station and made it their first artefact: ARC 001...
, Noise Deluxe, Slumberland, Speak N Spell/Etch N Sketch) - Life is Sweet (May 2008) (CD/LP/album - released in various countries through Fabtone, Bad Sneakers Records, Noise Deluxe, Slumberland, Speak N Spell/Etch N Sketch)
- Flashbacks (April 26, 2010) (CD/LP/download - This Is Fake DIY Records (UK) and Slumberland Records (US))
Singles
- 7" single - "Many Thanks For Your Honest Opinion" (Dance to the RadioDance to the radioDance To The Radio is an independent record label co-founded by Whiskas of Les Flames and ¡Forward, Russia! in 2004.It was named after the refrain of the Joy Division song "Transmission"...
) May 2005 - Split 7" single - "Getting Special" (Wrath) June 2005
- 7" single/download - "Watching" / "Not So Fast" (Double DragonDouble Dragonis a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Kunio-kun series ....
) December 2005 - 7" single/download - "Let Her Go" (Angular Recording Corporation) May 2006
- Download single - "Kicking Sand" / "Centuries" (Angular Recording Corporation) April 2007
- 7" single/download - "The Good Old Days" (Bad SneakersBad Sneakers"Bad Sneakers" is a song by jazz rock band Steely Dan. It was released as the second track on their 1975 album Katy Lied.It also appears on the compilation albums A Decade of Steely Dan and Citizen Steely Dan ....
) April 2008 - 7" EP single/download - "I Think I Need You" (Elefant RecordsElefant RecordsElefant Records is an independent record label based in Spain. Elefant records was founded in 1989 by Luis Calvo as an offshoot of a fanzine he produced called "La Línea Del Arco"...
) June 2009 - 7" EP single/download - "Have A Little Faith In People" (DIY Records (UK) and Slumberland Records (US)) April 2010
Compilation appearances
- CD compilation - Dance to the Radio: Leeds featuring "Unsatisfied" (Dance to the Radio) April 2005
- CD compilation on front of Thee Humbug Issue 3 featuring "Unsatisfied" (Thee Sheffield Phonographic CorporationThee Sheffield Phonographic CorporationThee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation, or Thee SPC, is an independent record label based in Sheffield, UK. It is one of the most influential labels in the Yorkshire area, having given early breaks and support to many bands in the so-called New Yorkshire scene. The label was formed by members of...
) September 2005 - CD compilation - What We All Want featuring "You Got Me Wrong" (Dance to the Radio) February 2006
- CD compilation - Blue Skies Up: Welcome to the New Pop Revolution featuring "Not So Fast" (Dogbox) May 2006
- CD compilation - Future Love Songs featuring "Simply Left Behind" (Angular Recording Corporation) November 2006
- CD compilation - On the Bone Vol 1 featuring "Let's Make A Pact" (On the Bone) February 2007
External links
- The Lodger at the Leeds Music Scene website
- The Lodger interview by James Brown
- "Raw Talent - The Lodger", BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
- The Lodger / Theoretical Girl / Strange Idols (live review), Soundsxp
- The Lodger interview, This Is Fake DIYThis Is Fake DIYThis Is Fake DIY is a United Kingdom-based music webzine dedicated to alternative music. It is named after a song by the Scottish alternative rock group Bis....