Noah And The Loners: The Next Generation’s Voice

Today, being a young person growing up in the world in its current state is a horrifying reality. From politics, to war, to the environment, to simply trying to exist as who you truly are, it’s difficult not to read the news each day and not feel dread for the future. And then the older generation in charge of it all have the cheek to tell you that you have no clue, that you don’t really understand, that you’re too young to care. That’s where NOAH AND THE LONERS come in to say, “No more!”.

NOAH AND THE LONERS are part of the newest generation of UK punk bands, all coming from a similar place of anger and frustration with the world they currently live in. Originally formed by Noah Lonergen [vocals, guitars] and Amber Welsh [bass, vocals] at the age of 12, they were then joined by Noah Riley [drums, vocals] and Joseph Boyle [guitars, vocals], and it was back February that they finally released their debut EP A Desolate Warning, which was produced by Neil Kennedy [CREEPER, BOSTON MANOR].

After having a moment to take a breath following the release, and having a loud release show, we sat down with Noah L, Amber, and Joseph where we had a chat about their time together as a band and the reasons behind their punk sound and lyrics. For Noah, the band becoming what they are now was never a set plan and more something that came along naturally, meaning that many changes could come in the future.

“When me and Amber started this band when we were 12, I don’t think we ever set out to write punk music or write anything political or about growing up, it kind of just naturally happened when we were pissed off at the state of the world. I know that when I’m writing lyrics it comes from a place of not really knowing how to put my thoughts and feelings into words in a normal conversation. The only way I can get out what I’m really feeling is through writing lyrics and fucking shouting about it on the record. That’s what we’ve done with A Desolate Warning, what we’ve been feeling over the past three years, cementing it into this one being that holds a lot of anger and grit and frustration and angst and teenage experiences.”

“I’m so glad that we’ve been able to put this out at the time that we have because it’s so us now. We are going to evolve as a band, I mean this is our first ever body of work that we have ever released, we may not even be punk in the future but at least we put out that one record that holds that.”

With NOAH AND THE LONERS forming when they were barely in their teens and taking part in other music projects over the years, you’d think that the members were dead set on becoming musicians their entire lives, but it was more something that they fell into over time as Noah recollects. “I think we just all found it at the time that we needed to, in the sense that all of us have always enjoyed making music and going to gigs and listening to it. I don’t think any of us particularly thought, ‘oh my god, this is the only thing I want to do for the rest of my life!’”

“When we were growing up, we all had like things that we were really, really into. Noah, our drummer, was almost in the School Of Rock musical when he was 12, Amber was doing gymnastics and wanted to be a firefighter for a bit, I had a brown belt in Karate and was convinced I was somehow going to be a sensei when I was older. We all had our different things, but music was always the thing that grounded us, I think it’s the one constant that we had going in our lives. It’s great that it’s the one thing that we can turn to.”

Yet for Joseph, things were the complete opposite with a rather direct approach by his father. “I grew up in a very musical house, none of my parents play instruments but they all have a big love for it, so it’s always been a large part of my growing up. I went to school one day, I must have been about seven, I came back home, and I had no toys left. They had all been thrown away, and all that was left was a brand-new electric guitar and amplifier. He was a cool dad, you know? He got rid of all my toys, gave me a guitar and was like ‘learn it!’”

When it comes to their lyrics, NOAH AND THE LONERS are unapologetically loud and frustrated at the state of the world. It’s hard not to be, especially when the younger generations voice is never taken seriously, yet in the end it will be down to them to try and fix things according to Noah. “To be honest, we’ve been put in quite a shit position in that we’ve been thrown into this world as now young adults that’s an absolute mess, and that’s such a frustrating place to be in.”

“There’s been so much damage done already to the planet, to relationships with other countries, Brexit, the economy. It’s now our place to try and fix that, and that’s a heavy thing to have to fix as 19/20 year-olds, as we’re going to be the ones running the country in twenty years time, but then what state is it going to be in at that point?!”

Amber adds in why it’s so important for them to speak their minds. “We as a generation have such little control over things, and it’s quite terrifying at times because we are aware of so much, yet people don’t believe that we are. I think it’s so important for us to use our voice.”

A Desolate Warning is out now via Marshall Records.

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