The first time you hear the music of siblings Max and Esmay of The Luck, you know that this is a band who have been playing together for a long time. Not surprising since they are siblings but they didn’t start playing together as a duo until they had both graduated from university and were both in New York City. During a recent interview, Max and Esmay said that although they did not come from a musical background, they were encouraged into playing musical instruments which in turn discovered a natural sense of rhythm in them both.
Being in New York together led to the pair writing a song together for the first time, ideally for Max to sing as a solo with a female harmony. Their flatmate of the time said “whatever you’re doing, keep in doing it…I’ve got goose bumps” and The Luck was duly formed and this first song was recorded in the East Village of New York. This led onto meetings and work with producers and writers and a life of constant live gigs, all accompanied by song writing and a desire to hone their craft. Many of these gigs were in Europe and USA, enabling Max and Esmay to play venues such as the Troubadour in LA and created a huge fan base for the band and their brand of country / Americana.
Given this experience stateside, you might ask why their first album, Ready to Run, out this week, is being released in the UK, having been recorded in LA. Esmay says that “we wanted to come home to release our album…there’s a growing Americana scene here and we think there’s a home here for our music. Audiences are very receptive to a duo, especially with all our harmonies”.
Before you read on, The Luck is giving a FREE download of “Ready to Run”, to Angry Baby readers. If you’re not already subscribed to Angry Baby, just pop the email address that you’d like it delivered to here and it will be on its way to you straight away, together with a bumper collection of music that has been shared by Angry Baby. The music comes from outstanding artists that you may not have heard before. With a mix of rock, pop, folk…you name it…there’s bound to be something new that floats your musical boat, and all for free! What’s not to like about that?!
Ready to Run opens with an upbeat track of the same name that catches you and prepares you for the sounds to come. Full of catchy hooks, the song takes you through the breakup and re-emergence from a broken heart and is one of the few songs on the album that is a solo writing effort (Esmay). Esmay says that this song came at the right time on the right day and was “just ready to spill out”. This theme continues with ‘If There Is Love‘, a slightly poppier, country song that examines the idea that if there is love, eventually you’ll find your way back.
‘Lionheart‘, ‘Place in the Sun‘ and ‘Vertigo’ takes us through the gamut of modern country / folk / pop music, overlaid with such sweet vocal harmonies from Max and Esmay that you can’t imagine wanting to stop listening. Max cites The Cranberries as one inspiration and influence and some of the alt rock and folk hints would certainly allude to that.
The stand out track for me is ‘Holding On‘; a love song full of warm country and folk sounds and rhythms that completes the album beautifully. Along with ‘One More Try‘, these two songs are very moving and evoke memories of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s Don’t Give Up. The Luck are a band to watch.
As befits a band who have been playing live for a number of years, The Luck’s advice for aspiring musicians is about honing your craft:
“Hone your craft, play to as many people as you can. Open mic, busking, allowing opportunities to come your way. Keep yourself grounded, be at peace with those who hate what you do – just as many will love it and tell you about it.”
Ready to Run is released on July 26 on Common Market Media Records. Get your copy here.
Catch The Luck ON TOUR through to November 7. Or if you can’t make it, follow them at:
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