Make Their Landmark

Problems? No such thing, say Manc punks

Everything was coming together swimmingly,” recalls Adam, bassist and co-vocalist of Manchester quartet Landmarks, speaking of the recording process for the band’s latest E.P, ‘In Spite Of It All’. “We had tracked drums, bass, guitars and vocals, and I had put a whole day into getting the harmonies just perfect…”

Can you feel that ominous ‘But’ on the horizon? Indeed, just as the band – completed by vocalist / guitarist Brad, guitarist Nic and drummer Tom – were wrapping up their time in the studio, disaster struck, as Adam reveals: “But, then the studio was broken into during the night. Twice. Much of the equipment was stolen, and the studio was brought to its knees.”

It was this twisted turn of events that, in part, inspired the E.P’s title, a middle finger to fate’s cruel hand; “That traumatic event solidified the phrase in our minds,” says Adam, “It’s subsequently come to work almost as a band motto for us. Thanks to an unexpected twist-of-fate, our producer Matt Heap was able to recover most of this equipment, and he managed to save this EP, and the whole thing reminded us to just keep giving everything we have, and to take each obstacle as it comes. I’m glad that we went through it in a way.”

‘In Spite Of It All’ sees Landmarks making a departure from their pop punk roots toward an alt-rock laced sound. Though still rich in melody, it’s an altogether more sombre affair, recalling the likes of Brand New in its downturned, more introspective aesthetic. “We wanted to strike a balance between the pop-punk band we began as, and the Alt-rock influences that began showing up more and more in our songwriting,” Adam explains; “The deeper, darker side to our songwriting is more prominent than ever, with melancholy songs like ‘Limb From Limb’ and the temper-fuelled ‘With Clarity’, which is probably the most mature song we have written to date.” A first taster comes in the form of single ‘Cutting Strings’, which can be streamed with the official video coming soon.