THE LILACS – ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM AND TOUR

DEBUT ALBUM ‘KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES’ TO BE RELEASED

ON OCTOBER 2ND VIA SCRUFF OF THE NECK – PRE-ORDER HERE

UK HEADLINE TOUR STARTS THIS WEEK

The Lilacs’ journey so far has seen the Wigan quartet sell-out a 2700-capacity headline show in Manchester, achieve a Top 10 Independent Albums Chart breakthrough with the ‘The 395 (To Forever)’ EP, win new admirers at every festival from the Isle of Wight to Truck, and play shows with the likes of Lottery Winners and The Lathums. Their rise so far has come in spite of immensely difficult times, with guitarist Sam Birchall recently getting the all-clear from cancer following a year of treatment – his story documented by both ITVand BBC.

But now it’s time for the indie-rock next wave hopefuls to look towards the future and once again raise the bar with the news that they will release their debut album ‘Keeping Up With The Joneses’ on October 2nd via Scruff of the Neck.

‘Keeping Up The Joneses’ is full of the essential qualities that have powered The Lilacs’ rise so far – insistent melodies and mega hooks focused on universal tales (and fails) of young adulthood played with youthful passion. And as the album proves, they’re doing all of that, but with more power, confidence and verve than ever before.

‘Keeping Up With The Joneses’ was produced by Joe Cross (Courteneers, Hurts) and introduces eight brand new songs to The Lilacs’ growing songbook. It is completed by new recordings of their two biggest moments to date, ‘Vicarage Road’ and ‘Grace’ – simply the same songs that fans already know and love, but tighter and more dynamic than ever before.

Frontman Ollie Anglesea says, “It goes with out saying how f**king proud we are of this record. Every artist, musician, painter, or whatever, reckons their latest work is their best. This one actually is. It’s a real coming of age record about growing up in a world obsessed with comparison, but never losing sight of where we’re from. And yeah, in true Lilacs fashion, there’s still a bit of classic ‘boy meets girl’ and ‘misspent youth’ running through it.

Actual blood, sweat, tears and plenty of long nights have gone into the making of this record. Made between Manchester and Paris, which still feels a bit mad, this record is going to take me and the boys to the next level. I hope you love it as much as we do!”

Sam Birchall adds, “Being part of creating the ‘Keeping Up With The Joneses’ album for me has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my music career so far. It’s a real jump in maturity of The Lilacs’ sound, and everything from the lyrics to the tones and the instrumentation has been considered. Our heart and soul has really gone into making it the very best that it can be and I can’t wait to see what response it gets from our ever growing loyal fan base. It’s our first real shot at aiming for the stars and putting The Lilacs up in the charts with all the big names, and no matter where it finishes, I’m proud of how it sounds and what we have achieved!”

From the outside, The Lilacs’ rise has been rapid but ‘Keeping Up With The Joneses’ is the culmination of years of dedication. Ollie and Sam had played together in a different band before completing The Lilacs in October 2018 with the addition of Matt Johnson (bass) and Dave Gomersall (drums). They debuted the following year with ‘Vicarage Road’ and have been steadily levelling up ever since, with landmark moments coming with ‘Grace’ in 2023 and ‘The 395 (To Forever)’ EP in 2025.

‘Keeping Up With The Jones’ is now available to pre-order HERE. The band’s official store offers a CD, cream vinyl, and signed lilac galaxy vinyl with alternate black artwork – plus a new bucket hat. Select indie storeshave an exclusive red cornetto vinyl with a signed obi strip, packaged in alternate red artwork.

The Lilacs are back on the road for a headline tour next month. And there’s plenty of opportunities to see them in action elsewhere too, with a headline set at This Feeling By The Sea and many further festival dates including Leeds, Latitude and Truck on the calendar. They’re also confirmed to play a stadium show as guests to Lottery Winners, as well as further big venues with Red Rum Club, The Fratellis, Scouting For Girls and Ocean Colour Scene.

Their shows run as below, please see HERE for remaining tickets.

APRIL

3rd – Leicester, O2 Academy 2 (LOW TICKETS)

4th – Stoke, The Sugarmill (LOW TICKETS)

9th – Lincoln, Southside (SOLD OUT)

10th – Norwich, The Waterfront (SOLD OUT)

11th – Southampton, The Joiners (SOLD OUT)

17th – Bridlington Spa, This Feeling By The Sea (HEADLINERS)

18th – Glasgow, King Tut’s (LOW TICKETS)

25th – Dublin, Whelan’s – upstairs (LOW TICKETS)

MAY

1st – Plymouth, The Junction (SOLD OUT)