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The Lucida Console started out in the May of 2002 after a drunken night out at local rock club the Zoo bar. Matt Purdon (guitar) and Matt Haighs (vocals, guitar) met up not long after Matt Purdons band (Soundforlucy) had split. After talking for a while they both came to the conclusion that a band should be formed. That's when will Akroyd (keyboards) joined the discussion and was talking about how he wanted to be in a band so he joined the band taking up keyboard duties.
Not long after that night a bassist was recruited, Scott Hartley, also of the now defunct Soundforlucy. After about a week a practice was organized.
Things didnt quite work out with their original drummer Patrick so Si Marks formally of Buen Chico joined to play drums for Lucida.
Its after Si joined that the band started to find there own style more, changing there original sound.
Lucida went on to record two demos with Steve Whitfield at Beaumont studios in Huddersfield and played many gigs mainly in Leeds.
The band then entered the Futuresound competition at the cockpit in Leeds. Lucida went on to win the competition coming first out of 30 bands and went on to play at last years carling Leeds festival.
After gaining lots of label interest Lucida did not feel happy enough with the live performance so held themselves up in a practice room for 5 months writing songs and concentrating on getting tighter as a band.
Since then lucida have supported many great bands like Biffy Clyro, Minus, Kill Kenada, Aereogramme,Reuben,Editors,We are Scientists, ReadYellow,,ThisGIRL, People in Planes,Redjetson,Youth movie soundtrack strategies and 65 days of static.
Lucida have now finished their second uk tour and are putting the final touches to their debut single due to be released on Must Destroy Music.
The Song Come Down Captain was released and the new dance to the radio compilation
On the one hand snarling abrasive guitars, crunching riffs and machine gun drumming. On the other, plaintive solitary piano, vocals tinged with aching desolation and sublime emo dynamics. the Leeds scenes hottest prospects. Yorkshire Evening Post
But what a fire, what a flickering explosive spark, what intricate aural pyrotechnics. Strapping Halifax quintet the Lucida Console are homely spectres, gentle and touching and wild and ferocious. How can they piece this all together so elegantly?! With such dignity?! They caress the ears for a second, warm and serene (think Mogwai for reference) with smoothly layered waves melody, so so soft on the guitars and keys. Blink. The band detonate with frantic riffs and careening vocal wails, girlish and hypnotic and irresistible. The chords are giant, the drums are a dervish. The change in sound makes me sweat and cackle. Blink. Theyre somewhere else, and so are you. You cant comprehend the change, cant comprehend the groove man, my maths isnt what it was, is this prog? It cant be, Im enjoying it too much.
No faux-showmen here. Visual understatement is key, juxtaposed against the taut but somehow unhinged music consuming the venue. Songs such as 'Work In Progress' are introduced with such apologetic humbleness, a scratch of the head and a gentle smile. But when they start up the boys play hard, creatively and expertly. The Lucida Console keep expectations low, and then deliver in spades time and again. Epic the tunes might be, but dullness is never even hinted at. They balance youthful buoyancy with way intellectual mosaic structures and changes. Its meticulous, and I dont even care that it might be contrived, because the pieces of music enveloping me are so vast and wonderful. (drowned in sound)
Taking heed from indie rock behemoth labels such as Jade Tree and Saddle Creek The Lucida Console take post-hardcore to impressively progressive labels while still maintaining an agreeable and catchy, melodic dimension. Songs are thick with wild twists, unexpected time-signature tempo changes and riffs that range from ponderous and psychedelic to plain old skin blistering. Its tighter than a Reganite welfare budget too. Each track is a compact epic hit in the making. Rarely do you find such a young band so fully formed never mind as evolved as this. Halifaxs Lucida Console barely look out of college (in this case seemingly one from the American mid-west geography is sometimes academic) but perform with a greater tenacity, advancement than many their senior.(www.manchestermusic.co.uk)
And so the crowds flocked for what didn't quite turn out to be the bone-crunching screech of guitars some had expected, but something pretty special all the same. The Lucida Console look tentative as they take to stage, but I appreciate the more discerning nature of the youngsters as they gently unload their guitars to the hauntingly subtle vocals of frontman Matt Haigh. However tentative, there's no sign of nerves from a band that has already played Leeds Festival after winning Futuresound, and have been carefully skirting the peripheries of the mainstream for a good few years. Casting inhibitions aside I'm almost contemplating a slight jive, as the welcome addition of a keyboard is superbly put to use on the opening track, however for future reference I prefer an organ setting. But enough about me, the faith and devotion of some rowdy travelling fans stage-side, brings back the hearty reality that this is 'emo'. Quickly the set descends into a melee of crashing guitar hooks, and destructive bass and there's almost no room to breathe after this relentless onslaught.
But it's the stinging almost feminine voice reminiscent of Mega City 4 for anyone who remembers them, that really warms the cockles. It's the difference between the depravity of grunge, and the mainstream success of Hundred Reasons or Lost Prophets. It's a tight professional performance from the boys, and their massive breakdowns certainly enlighten us toward their talents, however bigger is not always better. Allowing the hidden garden of Eden talent oozing from Haigh's throat, to be overshadowed by a very good wall of sound, but still a brick wall all the same. But for the more learned rock ear, the boys never fail to disappoint, even the possible potential a low-key sound could produce, there's no detracting from what's already on display. As the band quietly build their pretty little mosaic of sound, then smash it, jump on it and burn the pieces. Nevertheless an absolute joy to behold.(www.leedsmusicscene.co.uk)
We have T-shirts available , which you can pick up at gigs for 7, or send us a message and we'll send one out to you. Free badges and Stickers with orders:
The new Dance To The Radio compilation is now available....
