The Lumineers play in Cork this week as band turns 20: 'Ireland is always a highlight'
The Lumineers will play in Cork on Thursday, June 25.
You don’t see many bands make it to twenty years. Sustaining success in an oftentimes thankless arena can feel like a fool’s errand, but for the likes of The Lumineers, a band that has maintained an absolute love and passion for their vocation two decades in, no other arena exists. Indeed, that much is clear from listening to frontman Wesley Schultz, who approaches music in a wholly personal way.
“My dad was a psychologist,” he says from his perch near Woodstock, upstate New York. “And I remember I used to tell him that I wanted to be in his practice and try to help people by listening. I think, sort of in a weird way, that helps a lot with trying to be an artist. In the sense that you're listening to your environment and observing people.
"People are so contradictory and interesting, that songwriting naturally lends itself to telling that story. Even if that’s simply because of the fact that you kind of run out of material if you're only writing about yourself.”
Forming in 2005, the Lumineers entered the musical zeitgeist in 2012 with their self-titled debut album. At its peak, it sat at number 2 on the Billboard 200, cementing themselves as forebears of the “stomp, clap, hey” era, a sect of indie exemplified best by the likes of their peers, Mumford and Sons and Of Monsters and Men.
That said, the Denver-based band broke through the noise, differentiating themselves through minimalist instrumentation, narrative-driven songwriting, and intimate, melancholic pacing. With that, the band emerged as one of the most popular folk artists during the genre’s revival, with their popularity growing exponentially in the early aughts.
"I think we were really part of that zeitgeist, early 2010s thing, We really rode in on a wave... And we just didn't realise how lucky we were at that time."
With , the band’s fifth studio album, reviews have indicated something of a slow burn. On first listen, fans can read disappointed, with the primary concern that the record was missing the kind of flair for life previous Lumineers’ records boast. Another set of songs akin to or this is not, but on second listen, many come to believe this to be a good thing.
“It's almost like a tried-and-true thing,” Schultz says. “With a lot of movies or shows that you don't love right away, persevering with them tends to keep them with you the longest. I think that you have a much better chance at staying in someone's life with that type of album.”
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On , the undisputed showstoppers are , a melodic and moody piano piece resplendent with a tempo change, and a vocal melody reminiscent of The Lumineers at their best. Overall, it’s a record more subdued and quiet than their previous work; think less “stomp, clap” and more introspection, challenging.
“If something is really easy at first, there tends to be nothing to it. Like, you can’t eat McDonald’s everyday.”
These days, The Lumineers might well be more tapped into the worries of those around them than their own place in the world. This, one might imagine, can only have been compounded by the recent tragedy to affix itself to Schultz’ life; his younger brother passed away last year from an unexpected heart attack. Such a perspective shift can’t help but translate into the art one creates, which is likely a major factor behind the album’s central introspection.
“Sit in isolation all the time / I'll be on the ocean in your eyes / Tell it on the mountain, he's arrived / Everybody's famous for a while,” they sing on from
What is obvious however, first listen or fifth, is that both Schultz and bandmate Jeremiah Fraites had a lot of fun making this album. From a production standpoint, everything is quite different from previous Lumineers records, even down to the way Fraites was drumming. Much of that is down to the album’s title, which refers to idiosyncrasies of living today.
Automatic also features lyrics that challenge some of the more headline-grabbing elements of the US’s systems – wayward senators, insider trading, rubber bullets – but if Schultz were to describe a central antagonist for the piece, he’d almost certainly say that it’s potent modern disharmony.
There's such a need to escape your present today, so many feel that dissonance, and so people are looking at homes that they can't afford, just to feel something
takes aim at AI, too. “I mean, looking at how AI is…” he says. “I hope it delivers on something that's good for people. But right now it's, it seems like it's primarily making money for porn. Or, dumb songs.”
Ireland has typically boasted fertile ground for The Lumineers’ music. Their self-titled debut album achieved Platinum status here, and the band, over twenty years, has frequently filled large Irish venues. There’s a cultural significance, too.
“Ireland has always been one of our highlights anywhere on the globe to play,” he says. “In terms of people tend to notice the storytelling songs a lot more in Ireland. A few of our songs are a little wordy, and you have to pay attention to appreciate it. Irish people seem to get that a lot more than other places. They just get that it’s more than just the melody, it’s a story. As a writer, that’s incredible.”
It’s one thing to be a stylistic tourist passing through a new wave of introspection; it’s entirely another to settle in for the long haul. With the world the way it is, Schultz is quite certain that The Lumineers are focused on one thing and one thing only these days: making their listeners feel good.
“I hope people get [from the show] get what they came for,” he says. “ And that could be a lot of things, but I think what I've always gotten from the shows that affected me was a feeling of communion between the band and the audience; you have this ride together that you’ll just never get from, say, Zoom. My favorite shows all gave me some level of hope, even though the singers usually sing about very lonely ideas.
“It’s like, oh they feel lonely too, and then there's like a feeling of being somehow less alone. If our shows do nothing else, I really hope they do that.”
- The Lumineers, with support from Tom Odell, will play Musgrave Park (Virgin Media Park) in Cork on Thursday, June 25. Tickets available at ticketmaster.ie
