An argument could easily be made for proclaiming LostAlone “the unluckiest band in the world”. While the riff-heavy, melody-drenched, alt-rock-pop anthems of Steven Battelle earned them the adoration of peers such as Hayley Williams and My Chemical Romance (leading to the band signing to Warners in America at the insistence of Gerard Way), their oeuvre lives in relative obscurity. Maybe it’s the curse of being “a bands’ band” that ultimately has you reading this and saying to yourself “how do LostAlone have the audacity to release a ‘greatest hits’ record when I have literally never heard of them?”
A lavish 2xLP vinyl compilation will be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world 12.12.25 via SO Recordings. It’ll also be available digitally. ‘Memories Under A Microscope’ is served across two courses:
Disc 1 – the ‘greatest hits’ – an easy-to-digest introduction to the most overtly commercial and pop-tastic morsels from the LostAlone catalogue.
Disc 2 – new, unreleased and rare works – cynically included to make the entire package attractive to those for whom the standard releases hold no mystery (and yes, you’re correct, the food metaphors didn’t even make it as far as Disc 2’s description).
One of the vinyl discs is opaque pink, the other is very clear (at time of writing, your correspondent cannot remember which is which). The announcement of the release comes alongside the unveiling of a brand new single – ‘Compilation Of Complications’ – which you can stream now.
The evening prior to the release of ‘Memories Under A Microscope’, LostAlone will play their only headline show of the year; at London’s Olso venue in Hackney, with support from Fearless Vampire Killers and BEX. That’s 11.12.25 if you’re not keeping track. Tickets available here.
Hailing from the British pop-rock mecca that is Derbyshire, and soaked in influences that run the full gamut from Queen all the way to the solo albums by the members of Queen, LostAlone have existed since Steven Battelle and drummer Mark Gibson were 11 years old. (There’s a whole story about them appearing as kids on UK children’s TV show ‘Why Don’t You?’ and ending up in the Small Claims Court over a sacked guitar-player and ownership of a PA system. You need to get Steven to tell you the full thing sometime).
Between the band being 11 years old and you now reading this, a whole load of things happened to LostAlone. They added a bassist in the form of the excellent, and rather Scottish, Alan Williamson. They toured the UK & Europe with the likes of My Chemical Romance, Enter Shikari, Paramore and Thirty Seconds To Mars (yikes emoji). They released four albums. They had a load of BBC Radio 1 playlisting. They received praise in the music press from journalists and rock luminaries alike – had five star reviews coming out of their ears. They even split up at one point, reforming especially to play at the request of My Chemical Romance at their own UK comeback shows in the summer of 2022.
In the gap between 2022’s ‘The Warring Twenties’ album and you wondering why you’re reading this, Steven’s kept himself busy with myriad adventures outside of the band – Deputising for Frank Iero for an LS Dunes European tour, co-writing McFly’s ‘Power To Play’ album, and writing for Tom Fletcher’s ‘The Creakers’ stage musical with Danny Jones and Dougie Poynter.
More information and anything else you could need is available from:
lostalone.com
