All aboard the hype-train for one of the countries most exciting new bands.
This four-piece band haven’t achieved take-off velocity yet, but they are on the lips of everyone who keeps an ear to the ground of UK music. The band moved to Brighton in 2024 to join the thriving scene there and showcase what they had been working on for the previous year, allegedly in a shipping container down by the South Coast. Their chaotic, but infectious live shows have swiftly become legendary. There are some comparisons to the mighty Fat Dog in terms of the frenetic live energy they incite but they draw upon a wide range of influences and styles – Adult DVD, DeadLetter and Yard Act all feel like peers. A first EP dropped in October 2025. A second, Life Is A Heist, is due out on the 12th of June.
We were a couple of minutes late to their set at The Purple Turtle as we were enjoying every last second of Native James over at Sub 89. Whilst the Turtle is generally busy all day at AYL? the sheer rammed to the rafters nature of what we walked into suggests the sense of buzz around them was getting around.
There was no way we were going to get straight through so we nipped out the side door and attempted to get back in via the other door towards the front of the stage area. A few other locals had come to the same conclusion. Luckily, one of the bar staff chose this worst possible time to try and get through with a large item for the bar. Slipsteaming them we just about managed to get in to take a few photos and hear the set. With a busy mosh we eventually got a decent spot.
On record Lemonsuckr sound like there is a synthesiser at the heart of everything, yet live they seem to be producing all the sounds from guitar and drums via a wide range of guitar pedals. They also make use of God’s own instrument – the mighty cowbell. It is a monumental truth of live music that any band with a cowbell is instantly better than any band without one.
‘Dead Disco’ is a joyous post-punk-funk stomp that gets the crowd moving. ‘H.E.A.T.’ is utterly frenetic, a sound that grips hold and will have crowds going crazy at festivals all over the country this Summer. ‘Sedated’ leans back into a Mancunian style vocal like The Stone Roses but has an almost dance style beat underpinning it. Newest single ‘Stain’ suggests they getting better by the day and that the new EP is a must listen.
This is a band that do not allow the stage to contain them. Singer Guy Ferris is out into the crowd at regular intervals encouraging the energy and leading the sense of collectiveness. At another point one of the guitarists runs over to the bar, climbs it and begins hitting the drums that hang over the top of it from the ceiling whilst carrying the cowbell. Absolute scenes.
What a forty minutes this was. Lemonsuckr won over the neutrals in seconds and left with a room full of converts to their cause. You must listen to this band. You must seek them out for a live show before they rapidly outgrow the tiny venues they are currently playing. Another triumph for Are You Listening? Festival amid a day of them.
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