Interview: Lionface

Predicting success in music is a pointless exercise – it’s the most fickle industry in the world. Even those with the right combination of talent, charisma and work ethic have to reckon with luck, and there’s not enough of that to go round. Some bands have a clear advantage though, and Lionface are one of them. Their set for Bristol24/7 at The Fleece went down a storm in February, and their striking mixture of radio friendly tunes and in-your-face intensity seems tailor-made for bigger venues.  “I think ‘battle pop’ kinda sums it up,” says Kat Marsh, the project’s singer and creative core. “They’re raging, catchy pop songs.”

Kat sings with the power and range of an R&B belter, but she earned her stripes as a member of rowdy ska-punks The King Blues. If she looks a natural performer now, it’s a role she’s had to grow into: “…when I started out years ago I was super nervous. I think playing for The King Blues on really big stages helped to kill my nerves.”

Kat’s previous band are known as much for their political posturing as their music. “I enjoyed playing for a band who were openly confrontational and pretty raw at heart,” she says, describing her own songwriting as more introspective. “I tend to write about either events that have affected me personally or events that have had a huge effect on me after discovering them…I’ve written about murder, suicide, child abuse…I find a weird enjoyment in making catchy choruses about the darkest subjects.”

Since 2013 Lionface have released four EPs, each one a further honing of their potent blend of industrial rock and Grimes-style electronic pop. 2014’s Girl – with its  chorus of “I don’t want to be a girl in this town” – addressed the problem of balancing freedom and safety: “I feel strongly that we shouldn’t have to hide away to stay safe but I’m definitely careful about where I go and what I do if I’m alone. It sucks that it has to be that way, but I feel like both men and women are becoming more aware of the issue.”

Last year’s Battle EP is by far the most impressive Lionface release to date, and it ends with their first real jaw-dropper. “No Hope State is my love letter to the NHS”, explains Kat, “I think free healthcare for everyone is a necessity in a progressive and caring society.” A torchy ballad whose refrain – “they’ll rip us to shreds and take ’til there’s nothing left” – is as provocative as any you’ll hear in 2016, it also boasts a gloves-off, barnstorming vocal that would surely cause the X Factor judges to spontaneously combust in unison. “Musically I’m inclined towards energetic and heavy stuff, like Die Antwoord, Rage Against The Machine, Deftones, The Mars Volta,” says Kat, “but as a singer I really love diva-esque vocals. I think the songs I write end up being a weird merging of those things.”

While Lionface is Kat’s project she’s quick to praise her collaborators: “I co-produce the songs with Peter Miles, who’s an incredible Devon-based producer. His production is really important to the Lionface sound and I defer to him a lot when it comes to crafting songs.” Her bandmates Scott Claessens (drums) and Courtney Bills (bass) have both “become really involved in the writing process” as time’s gone on. Then there’s ace guitarist Martin Grech, who they met while recording the Battle EP: “I discovered he’s my musical kindred spirit, so he ended up recording guitars on a bunch of the new songs.”

A very contemporary assault of layered synths, heavy guitars and blistering vocals the band’s live show is fast gaining a following around the country. With their theatrical videos – we’re excited to hear there’s a new one for No Hope State coming soon – and rapidly growing songcraft, Lionface look like a band with momentum. You won’t catch us making predictions, but it might be an idea to see them in one of Bristol’s best small venues while you still can.

Lionface play the Electric City launch at The Lousiana, Sunday March 27. For more information visit lionfacemusic.bandcamp.com

B24/7 at The Fringe video by Pamela Parkes