musicismoonlight

It's only a few days after Tramlines Festival and the city and its inhabitants are still recovering. Bottles and flyers litter the streets, everyone seems to still be hungover but Liberty Ship are already back in the practice room after playing the main stage on Sunday.

*Credit to Glenn Ashley*

Liberty Ship are Sheffield's very own indie four-piece, including Lewis Hancock (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Jack Eddison (lead guitar) , James Brown (bass) and  Kierran Bond (drums). They were still doing their GCSEs when they played their debut gig and  the lads have been no strangers to the music scene since. Before they could even drink at their own shows, they'd toured with a number of established legends, King Charles and Reverend and The Makers, as well as supporting Coventry's The Enemy, whilst still playing a number of their own headline gigs. Eight years on and they're now releasing music that demands attention.

With a lot of hard work these lads seemed to have found a way to break away from the typical mainstream 'indie' sound and make a strong impact. 'We've grown up and our sound has grown up a bit too', lead guitarist Jack explains. It's easy to get drowned in the Soundcloud generation of musicians where anyone can upload music at the click of a button, but Liberty Ship seem to have their heads safely above the water. So now, leaving their teenage years behind, they're breaking the mold and placing their stamp on the music scene. 

Even during their rainy Tramlines set there was a certain exemplary warmth in the crowd. Their mix of songs gathers a diverse audience, with crowd pleasures such as, 'Neon Light' and the band's favourite 'Fire Your Love', matched with slower love songs, 'For You'. 'We've got quite a large audience', says Kierran. Which is true, standing in the crowd you could see an array of different people, from students to bearded men in flat caps and I 'm pretty sure a Tinder first date were dancing next to me. 

What's noticeably admirable about Liberty Ship is their attitude towards music, and not just their own either. After spending some time with them you quickly  get a sense of how laid back they are, but it's matched with a passion which is clearly exhibited in their live performances. They'll try their hand at anything if it means promoting their music and having fun, such as playing an acoustic set on the tram during the Tramlines weekend. Alike other 'new generation bands' they seem to realise that platinum records aren't handed out on silver platters, but unlike the majority they're more than willing to work hard to produce quality music which demands recognition and that they love themselves.  'We'll definitely get a collection of songs we're happy enough with to put together for an album in the distant future' Brown claims. 

If you want to create your own sound in Sheffield then you first have to find a way to break free from the shackles of being compared to the Arctic Monkeys, as Liberty Ship found out. 'It's literally only cause we're from Sheffield and we play our own instruments!', they laugh when being asked about this bold yet common comparison. Whilst they claim that the Arctic Monkeys aren't a huge influence to  their own unique sound, they're  quick to show respect for the High Green A-Listers. 'When we first started playing as a band, at places like The Boardwalk, there was a load of Sheffield bands knocking about such as the Arctic Monkeys and Milburn. That was definitely inspiring cause it made it clear that you can do it when they're making it', Jack explains.
'Our sound isn't really like anyone else', bassist James says. 'We get asked to compare ourselves to other bands a lot, but that's not reyt something we can do', Jack adds. You would certainly file 'the Liberty Ship sound'  as indie, but they're quite right when they claim their sound is somewhat undefinable. It combines an established sound of old school rock mixed intensely with the wild exuberance of being a teenager in today's society. 

It’s not just a particularly dedicated portion of Yorkshire that’s coming round to the quartet’s charms either. Liberty Ship have been showing up on the radars of those across the nation, playing festivals in Wales and even being asked to play private parties by eager moon-eyed fans. 'It's all just a lot of fun', the band tell me.  As passionate as the band seem to be, you can't deny they're having a lot of fun. In between writing songs and (probably not) revising in school the band gathered some rock n roll stories. 'There was a story involving a table and a window', Jack laughs, going on the explain how the band decided to throw a table and an ironing board out of a window after playing The Leadmill in their teens. 'We went round with a bunch of flowers to say sorry though', Lewis quickly reassures us. 

You can expect to see a lot more from Liberty Ship in the following months, not only are they darting across the nation to play festivals, they're headlining their own gig at The Leadmill in Sheffield. The very same venue which has played a host to Arctic Monkeys and Pulp  is welcoming Liberty Ship back after two years, this October. Get yourself a ticket online and for a fiver you can become part of their inevitably promising story.

*Credit to Colin Wright*