Moment In Time: The Lottery Winners On Strength, Unity, Defiance and 'Anxiety Replacement Therapy'
Monday, 24 April 2023
Written by Maddy Howell
In recent years, The Lottery Winners have become something of an underdog success story. Releasing their self-titled debut album into a country freshly headed into lockdown, in 2020 indie fans across the UK were captivated by the distinctly positive sound of the presumed newcomers. But by then the band were already a decade into a career of hard-fought optimism.
Playing christenings, weddings, and even a show that culminated in a police raid in their hometown of Leigh, Greater Manchester, the four-piece have dedicated their lives to being a touring band, and with 2021’s impassioned ‘Something To Leave The House For’, the payoff for their resolute attitudes continued as they reached No 11 in the UK Charts.
“I don't know what's at the top of the ladder, but I'm very aware that we're climbing it,” frontman Thom Rylance starts. “Some hype bands get a big record deal straight out of college, and they don't have that experience. We’ve experienced the world together in our formative years, and whilst everything’s been happening in the world, it’s been us four in the same room. We were one unit. Really, it's a family.”
That familial unit would become vital as 2022 rolled around. With the otherworldly circumstances of the pandemic fading, Thom found himself struggling. Lying in bed coping with alcohol-induced anxiety and the undiagnosed ADHD that had long affected his life, his fingers eventually began to graze the keyboard of the laptop perched on his mattress. He began writing the latest chapter in The Lottery Winners’ defiant story. “I went through a tough year mentally, and it's reflected on these songs,” he explains.
“We put them on the album in the order that they were written and because of that, it starts quite dark and then it gets lighter. There were bad times, from a diagnosis to starting medication, but then it started to feel better. The album is called ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ because for me, it was like my therapy. Writing those songs and getting those emotions out is how I deal with things.”
Referred to as ‘ART’ by the band and its fans, “A killer acronym for t-shirts,” Thom laughs, ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ documents the self-acceptance, understanding, and sheer determination that line the path to recovery. A collection of 10 vibrant singalong pop-rock anthems, divided into chapters by three interludes from a mystery narrator, each moment serves as a chapter in Thom’s personal journey towards clarity.
From anxiously anthemic opener Worry to Sertraline – a folk-infused track written after Thom received a prescription for antidepressant medication – to the empowering self-acceptance of Not Alone, ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ finds its turning point with the frontman addressing his 12-year-old self on ‘Letter To Myself’. “He's always there, he’s always on stage with me, and I've always tried to protect him,” Thom nods.
“I grew up with terrible, undiagnosed ADHD that schools didn't understand, so I got kicked out of school a lot, and that made me feel like a bad person. I automatically woke up every day thinking I was a bad person, but it wasn't my fault. I wanted to talk to that little kid who felt like he didn’t have a place in the world and let him know that he has one. It was an important thing for me to do for myself.”
Marking the album’s mid-way point, the track comes with guest vocals from friend of the band Frank Turner, and it’s not the only collaboration to be found on ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’. Lining up some of British music’s biggest legends to amplify the power of community, Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder stops by on anti-austerity anthem Money to reprise his iconic “Call the cops!” refrain, and Boy George brings one of his most emotionally intense performances in years on Let Me Down.
“I was looking at what made iconic pop hits and I ended up listening to quite a lot of Culture Club. It rubbed off on me subconsciously, and I wrote this song. When I listened back, I was like, ‘Shit, it'd be great if Boy George sang this’,” Thom smirks.
“I messaged him on Twitter, and he ignored it. So, I messaged again, and he ignored that. Eventually I was like, ‘George! I've written this amazing song and you won't even listen to it. It's only three minutes long, do me a favour?’ He responded asking for my number and I thought I was going to get shouted at, because we all know how he can be. I answered a call from an unknown number, and George said, ‘Darling, I love the song. It's amazing. Let's get in the studio and do it!’”
Working alongside some of their lifelong heroes to create an album that showcases the healing powers of music, The Lottery Winners are hoping it’s a reminder that things can always get better. For Thom, his bandmates, and people across the world, music is their anxiety replacement therapy, and they’re here to celebrate that.
“You can always find a way through it, and when people say, ‘I was going through a really tough time, and your song helped me through it that blows my mind,” he smiles. “Music is the most important thing to us, and I define moments of my life through music. Every moment has a soundtrack, and I can go back to those times. If I want to think about being carefree, I listen to Paul Simon's ‘Graceland’. If I want to remember what it was like to feel like an outcast, I listen to ‘The Queen Is Dead’ by The Smiths. If we're someone's moment in time, that's a huge compliment.”
‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ is out on April 28 through Modern Sky.
The Lottery Winners Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue April 25 2023 - EXETER Exeter Phoenix
Wed April 26 2023 - BRISTOL Thekla
Thu April 27 2023 - BRIGHTON Patterns
Fri April 28 2023 - SOUTHAMPTON Engine Rooms
Sat April 29 2023 - LONDON Lafayette
Tue May 02 2023 - STOKE Sugarmill
Wed May 03 2023 - GRIMSBY Docks Academy
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