What more can we say about The Lonely Together that we haven’t already said? First, they hit us with the warmth of ‘City Lights’. Then, they unleashed the upbeat and catchy ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Get’. They’ve since released another two incredible tunes, and we feel honoured to have gotten the chance to interview them!
Chatting mainly with the band’s frontman Mike Baillie, we dive into what it’s like working alongside Rod Jones of Idlewild, how he’s feeling about next month’s big release, and what comes next for the project. Please give a big welcome to our new friends The Lonely Together!
Hello and welcome The Lonely Together! It’s so great to be able to re-introduce you to our audience today! My introduction to your music came last year in the form of ‘City Lights‘. I labelled it “one of the richest, warmest, and most beautifully produced tunes I’ve heard in a while” and I firmly stand by that statement! What does the song mean to you?
Thank you again for such kind words. That song is certainly an honest, personal one… It’s pretty much the benchmark, in that sense – potentially the first song I’d ever written so honestly and I think that’s why it stuck around all these years. Keeping me honest, in a way… making sure that I continue to write in that way, to some extent. I’m really glad you like it and I’ve had some really lovely comments about it, which makes me think I should have released it a long time ago haha!
After ‘City Lights’, I found myself falling in love with ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Get‘. It’s just such a punchy and infectious tune! It’s been out a little over a month now and already has over 1,500 plays on Spotify. How does it feel to know that so many people have been listening to and resonating with your music?
As soon as we got this song down, it was immediately screaming to be let out, as the first single. I’d taken on a manager, for the first time with TLT and he was disagreeing with me about it… needless to say, on this instinct alone, he didn’t last long and releasing ‘Don’t Ask…’ as the lead single was absolutely the right way to go. This song might be even more honest and certainly more direct than ‘City Lights’… It’s a true story as well, every line haha.
It feels so good to know that people love this song. When the lyrics came to me, it was one of the rare occasions that I sat thinking “Wait a minute… can I talk about this??” Is this the right way to go, with this song?!” but the answer was unreservedly “YES!” in the end. If anything, I think lockdown loosened me up a bit, lyrically, and allowed me to feel safe in writing naturally. This song is a huge one, in that sense, so I’m over the moon that people like it.
I’m a massive Idlewild fan, so I guess I’m rather jealous that you got to work alongside founding member Rod Jones. What was that experience like?
I won’t tell you that a lot of the guitars I used on the record were his, then… haha In all honesty, some of the sessions were tense. Rod can be a real taskmaster and quite abrupt. Things almost got physical at a few points, with us almost coming to blows…
I’m kidding (obviously)… Rod and I have known each other for years, since my old band toured with Idlewild, on their first greatest hits tour. Rod has such a great ear for music and we’re very much on the same page – he knew exactly what I was going for, from moment one, and he was instrumental in helping me achieve it. In that sense, a lot of the album sessions felt effortless… Just him and I in the room, working towards the end goal, with a lot of laughs and a lot of really satisfying breakthrough moments along the way. Honestly, a dream.
August the fourth is the official release date for your sophomore album. How are you feeling leading up to its release?
Yes! I’m very excited to see this one out there! It has been a huge labour of love, ever since I wrote the music for ‘Endless Sunset Oblivion’ itself. This album genuinely means the world to me – pound for pound the best material I have ever produced I think. And it has sparked a lot more in me than I ever would have expected.
The album release isn’t even the biggest part of it, in a way… as I am putting together my first ever Edinburgh Festival Fringe show – a one-man play of the same name, to showcase the songs from the record and also tell the story behind the album. It’s an awful lot of work but it is going to be so special, telling this story and living the album out every night, through August. I’m very excited to see what people make of it.
Which of your lyrics would you like to see printed on a T-shirt?
There is a song on the new record that nobody has heard yet… I’ve deliberately kept it a big secret, as it is a deeply personal song and in many ways different and one of my best, I think… It’s called ‘All Nerves (In The Presence Of Hope)’ and the line I’d like to see on the T-shirt would be “I know how you’re feeling and I’m glad that you’re not alone.”
Great question!
Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
I think I’ve said before that I take a lot of influence from ‘moments’… like, production moments or musical moments in songs. I’m not sure if any bands/artists necessarily come through in my songs, as a result… but throughout the writing and recording of this new album, I was listening to a lot of James Iha, The Psychedelic Furs, Fleetwood Mac, Broken Social Scene and older singer/songwriters – Glen Campbell, Neil Young, Rickie Lee Jones etc.
I’m a sucker for having to know the origins of a band’s name. I just can’t help myself! How exactly did The Lonely Together come about?
Having a full record in the bag and no band name is one of the most excruciating memories of my life haha… I spent a long time trying to fit something to the music of the first album – lots of scribbling and scoring out… until one day, it hit me – The Lonely Together – and I shared it over the phone with my good friend Matthew while on a walk in summertime and that memory is a very special one to me.
If you were allowed to collaborate with one musician or band, who would you choose?
“Allowed to?!” I’m no grave robber! Haha. I said this earlier this year, for sure… but I’d love to work with my friend Dan (Layus). That guy knows his way around a song better than most and it would be a true joy to work on something with him.
If not Dan, I’d choose James Iha, Kevin Drew, or to write a song for/with Spacey Jane. Sorry, that is way more than one haha
Thanks a lot for chatting with us! It’s been a real treat! Just before we let you go, what do you hope for in your musical future?
Millions in the bank, an Aston Martin and an expensive drug habit, all being well…Or simply just to make the best damn third, fourth and fifth albums anyone has ever heard.
