Lovejoy Take the Indie Rock Scene by Storm
Interview and photos by Mary Perez
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
Formed in 2021, Lovejoy is one of the newest and hottest bands in the indie rock world, building their name around their snappy lyricism, captivating melodies, and overall playful personalities. Comprised of lead vocalist Will Gold, guitarist Joe Goldsmith, bassist Ash Kabosu, and drummer Mark Boardman, the English quartet has already built quite the following through the releases of their three EPs. Their most recent release, Wake Up & It’s Over, came out in May this year, debuting at No. 5 on the UK album charts. Their schedules have been packed, as they did their first US headline tour this spring, topped off by a performance on the main stage at New York’s Governors Ball Music Festival. I had the absolute honor and pleasure of catching up with the guys after their performance at GovBall to discuss their recent successes, unexpected influences, and their hidden abilities:
To start off, let’s discuss your performance earlier today! How was it getting to play at GovBall and see all of your fans?
Will Gold: It was really, really fun.
Ash Kabosu: It was really cool. It’s like the end of a long-ass tour. It was a really nice endcap to everything we’ve been doing in America. It was cool to play New York again. We were here in December last year, and New York crowds are always really cool. I always fucking love this place!
WG: GovBall’s been absolutely incredible so far. Our set was really fun, and it’s always a pleasure to do any sort of main stage or any big stage that we get to perform our songs. It’s always a bit of a blessing.
Joe Goldsmith: We’ve done quite a few festivals, and I think we’ve played the best that we’ve played at any festival. We’ve done four, and that was the best we’ve played.
AK: Actually, we’ve done five! We played Manchester twice.
JG: I’d say that was the best we’ve performed. It was really fun.
Are there any artists that you’re hoping to catch while you’re here?
AK: A ton! I want to see Oliver Tree, Snail Mail
JG: Kenny Beats, Suki Waterhouse would be cool.
AK: Suki is fucking great; we’ve seen them at a few festivals now, and they’re really nice.
Are there any artists that you’re inspired by that fans might be surprised by?
AK: It is only basslines, so you don’t really notice, but I take a lot of inspiration from Idiot Pilot. They’re a small band from back in the emo days. I really like Loathe; I think they’re incredible. They’re just a completely different genre, and you wouldn’t really notice if I didn’t tell you just now.
WG: I get a lot of rhythms from Japanese math rock.
Mark Boardman: A lot of my style of playing comes from bands like Northlane and all these metalcore bands, like Thornhill. Even old stuff from Bring Me The Horizon, that’s the stuff that got me into double kick and stuff. Northlane, especially with the cymbal placement and the double kicks, the space, I love it.
JG: Sometimes I get some weird guitar influences from shoegaze bands, like DIIV or Slowdive, bands like that. It’s stuff like that but also random Japanese city rock from the 80s.
Japan is always living in the future!
JG: Yeah, it’s so cool!
WG: Specific bands that I really like are tricot, Chon, things like that.
I love that you guys mentioned these other influences and how they play a role in your current creation! Are there any other genres that you want to dabble in or draw inspiration from in the future?
JG: I really want Mark to do a jungle drum breakdown at some point in a song because jungle drums are fucking so catchy and boppy, and they’re so fun to groove to. I think we could pull it off, so I think that’s going to be a challenge for Mark.
MB: That’d be really sick. We’d get to experience playing around with a lot of different sounds because it’s a whole lot of cymbals and shit, so that’d be really fun to do that. We’d have to see where it fits though. We’ll get it done.
Which song of yours do you think defines your band the most?
WG: That’s kinda “Call Me What You Like.” Or “Portrait of a Blank Slate.”
AK: We’re still kinda figuring who we are, so it’s difficult to kinda pin it down. I think the songs are just different periods of our development, so I guess it’d be the most recent ones.
What was it like forming your band over the past few years and getting to tour the world so quickly in your careers?
WG: Different. I don’t know if it was more or less difficult. I feel like bands that form and grow on the Internet seem to have a lot of scrutiny for bands that grow the old-fashioned touring way and vice versa—bands that tour and go through that tend to have a lot of scrutiny for the Internet bands. I feel like we could all learn something from each other. I feel like there’s a lot of crossover and important things we can learn. We definitely haven’t done it perfectly, but we’ve done it our way, and that’s what matters.
AK: I feel bad for the bands that are forced to make TikToks all the time. That shit sucks, dude. Just let them make music; that’s what they’re good at!
WG: I like making TikToks.
AK: Yeah, but that’s us: we’re Internet-brained.
If you could switch roles with one of your bandmates for a day, whose role would you want to take on?
WG: Probably Ash.
AK: I’m very happy being me.
It’d be just for a day!
WG: Oh, I’d be the bassist.
AK: I’d be Mark just so I could understand how his brain works.
WG: Oh, we’re being in the other person’s brain? I thought we were just switching instruments.
It’s just switching roles, not bodies!
AK: Oh, okay! Well, not Mark. I would fuck that up so bad.
MB: I want to be Joe and do a guitar solo, slide on my knees. I’d be lead [guitar].
AK: I also want to be lead [guitar].
JG: I’d sing. Nobody wants to be drums.
If you could devise a conspiracy theory involving your band, what would it be?
JG: We’re not real.
AK: Yeah, we’re actually AI-generated. We were an earlier iteration of ChatGPT that actually fabricated itself into human beings. It’s very advanced; you’ll probably see this roll out in the next 4-5 years. There’ll be loads of AI bands—we’re the first.
WG: Mine would be that we started the Spanish flu. You remember that pandemic 490 years ago or whatever it was? It definitely wasn’t rampant civilization and technological booms and livestock.
If there were band member Olympics, what events would there be?
MB: Hot dog eating.
Do you guys do a lot of hot dog eating?
MB: Oh yeah, we’re glizzy munchers.
WG: Do we?
MB: Me and Joe don’t eat meat, so yeah, lots of hot dogs!
WG: Don’t ask Mark any more questions! 100-meter, discus, archery, let’s just have the full shebang! I don’t know how we’ll do it, but I just want to see how we’ll do.
AK: I’m not really good at any physical capacity-
WG: Bobsled.
Don’t they have video games now in the Olympics?
JG: Esports type shit! I was thinking skating, as well.
AK: I’ll do some longboarding then.
JG: I’ll play some Tetris for a gold medal.
Any messages you’d like to send your fans?
JG: You’re the best. We appreciate everything that you say and give to us, except for Steve. We don’t care for Steve.
After our quick chat, the guys huddled around a tree in the media area to take portraits, which immediately escalated into a climb up the tree to pose for a few photos. Even in our short time together, all of them were incredibly gracious and took every opportunity to let each of their personalities shine, whether it be through silly facial expressions in their individual photos or laughing along to one another’s goofy mannerisms. Although they were one of the opening acts of the Saturday lineup, their fans came out to show their support, screaming along to each song as if Lovejoy were headlining the main stage. One other photographer mentioned to me that a fan told him that they were only at GovBall to see Lovejoy play, which is true commitment.
Since their GovBall appearance, the band has since played Glastonbury Festival in England and Open’er Festival in Poland, topped off by a headline spot at Belgium’s Rock Werchter. For a band in their earliest years, it’s evident that this is not the last you’ll hear of Lovejoy as the band continues to grow and tour the world. The massive support that they’ve garnered over the past few years is also a testament to their talent and their potential to be one of the biggest names within the indie rock scene as a whole. If you haven’t already hopped on the Lovejoy train, there’s no better time than the present, as there’s no telling what they’ll achieve next!
