Reading-based indie-pop trio, Only The Poets, have been releasing music and performing across the UK since their formation, but over the past year they have been gliding from strength to strength in the successes of their career. After sitting down with lead singer, Tommy Longhurst, in February, it was clear to me that this band was one of great passion for their craft, and drive to succeed. Mentioning their up-coming UK headline tour dates, Tommy said that the band were ‘really excited, ‘cause every city you go to is different and that’s what makes it fresh’. Following this debut headline tour at the beginning of the year, Only The Poets went on to support Ten Tonnes on his album tour, and are set to play several festivals this summer, commencing their next headline tour on the 19th of October in Bournemouth.
Musically, the band fit perfectly into the current indie world, having gained much attention through their support slot on tour with Coasts, including their final show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in October 2018. Speaking positively of the indie scene’s sense of togetherness, and the opportunities Coasts enabled his band to reach, Tommy seems to be a grounded artist whose genuine interest remains in his music and the artistic community around him.
While Only The Poets are very much becoming an established group within the indie scene, their talent goes beyond ‘generic indie music’. Their debut track, ‘Ceasefire’ which was released in February 2017 has racked up over 22,000 views on YouTube and has helped in securing the band their 15,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. In terms of finding their own distinct sound, Tommy mentioned that, as a solo artist, he had written songs to explore his feelings, but in terms of Only The Poets, there is not one genre they have tried to recreate: ‘I love Blur, The Stone Roses, and obviously we love Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, these are the big juggernauts of indie music, but then, we love pop music, and we love Michael Jackson, Prince and all those big whooshing choruses’.
In the words of their front man, Only The Poets are ‘a pop band but, our instrumentation can be that of an indie band because it’s guitar music.’ Specifically mentioning 90s Brit Pop bands, and Damon Albarn, the varying musical tastes and influences of each member enables the band to create music reflective of their inspirations, while also making new, modern sounds.
Only The Poets’ live shows are not to be missed; they combine a slick musical performance with great exuberance and stage presence that transcends into the crowd. You don’t need to know the words to their songs to have a great time and want to dance; but once their performance is over, if you hadn’t already heard of them, you’ll be straight onto Spotify to get more of them. Only The Poets are a fun, vibrant band who are well on their way to achieving great things. Make sure to catch their next Birmingham gig on October 30th at The Sunflower Lounge.
By Emma Sherry
