Legss

Part of the post-Brexit new wave NPR 

"utterly unhinged” The Quietus 

"biting art-rock” DIY

"their capricious sound regularly strays far from centre, entering realms unfamiliar for guitar-driven music, incorporating dark sonic expositions, strong fictional characters, and elements of theatre. At times, all three all at once” Loud & Quiet (150th Anniversary Print Issue)

"stabbing, urgent musicality setting the group apart from their peers” Clash  

"Legss are one of the most underrated acts to grace the British musical landscape of today” So Young Magazine
 

London quartet Legss return with their first single in 2023 - the sprawling, caustic art-rock yarn ‘The Landlord’ today.

Pulling no punches, the track kicks off with manic drums and paranoid guitar flourishes before vocalist Ned Green begins a soliloquy bewailing the gap between artistic expression and historical pay-off. 

“It’s a product of privilege to presume you’re owed some sort of legacy” Green explains, “The balancing act of careerism and creativity leads you to this realisation, and that whatever you’re trying to achieve creatively is probably not going to have the lasting legacy you imagined for it. 

The structure of the song is representative of this, and that sense of fading idealism. I imagine it could be a maddening song to listen to, in that it offers up elements of potential song structures that could be quite enjoyable if isolated and extended. But this is how it feels: unsettled, fluid, scatty, disquieting.  

Landlords seem to be emblematic of this internal power struggle for ownership over your own life and creations. It’s also the name of a drink we all like, which is a good antidote to these sorts of realisations.”  

The four-piece take inspiration from a plethora of literary and visual works as well as London’s sprawling urban landscape. Pivotal to the immersive soundscape is the band’s distinctly feverish visual world in which Green’s perturbed protagonists are truly awakened. 

It’s an approach that has led to the four-piece being the only unsigned band anointed by NPR as part of ‘The Post-Brexit New Wave’, alongside the likes of Squid, Black Country, New Road and Dry Cleaning. This comes alongside acclaim from Loud & Quiet, The Quietus, The Independent, DIY, CLASH, So Young, HERO and many more in the music press.  

‘The Landlord’ follows double-A ‘Hyde Park Coroner’/‘Hollywood’ (2021) - the latter being released alongside a short film that was directed by The Reids and exec producer Mura Masa - and the ‘Writhing Comedy’ (2019) and ‘Doomswayers’ (2020) EPs. Legss have toured with the likes of Bella Union’s Pom Poko as well as joining a sold-out tour supporting Hotel Lux. Previous radio acclaim has been received from the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq who premiered ‘Hyde Park Coroner’, BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, John Kennedy from Radio X (playlisted) and BBC Introducing London’s Jess Iszatt. 

Alongside Ned Green (vocals/guitar) - Louis Grace (drums/samples), Jake Martin (bass) and Max Oliver (guitar) complete the line-up.  

The track was co-produced by Balázs Altsach and Louis Grace, recording and mixing engineer was Balázs Altsach, mastered by Jim Spencer at Eve Mastering.