LOCKS are a ‘Waits-infused’ alt-folk band based in London. The string-based quartet conjure up ballads and shanties with a hint of the macabre joining the sheer enjoyment of words, meanings and sound. Darker undercurrents combine with fables, folk tales, urban myths and a wonderful playfulness.

Drawn together one by one to write parts of songs which see gin drinkers rubbing shoulders with the damned, murderers burying bodies in the back yard and family secrets being whispered through the night they concoct a mix of haunting sounds in a fresh and fun eerie folk note to create a sound they call ‘skeletal-blues’.

Within a few months of meeting they released their debut EP, Rattle Them Bones. The songs, artwork and title are interwoven in a nod to the veil between life and death. ‘The Gin Song’ was named one of Steve Lamacq’s ‘Best of 2017’ and the EP led to the band being invited by Lamacq to
play the BBC Introducing stage at The Great Escape Festival 2017.

The follow up debut album ‘Skeletal Blues’ garnered extensive radio play and press coverage. The songs quickly found their way into the hearts of fans in the local underground music scene and onto BBC 6 Music and Radio X playlists.

LOCKS are L. Geary-Griffin (vocals/guitar), Mike Byrne (double bass), Marian McClenaghan (fiddle) and Andrew Marvell (drums and percussion).

‘Archaic rumbling folk-blues’ ★★★★ (4/5) ROLLING STONE

‘They are a band who create a very vibrant sound on stage leading you in and out of the shadows. There are some very joyous moments in the set. At times – like a knees-up, at other times its quite macabre’ – STEVE LAMACQ, 6 Music

‘Rocking the airwaves…rare gift of catchiness…hellacious groove…goose bumps…’ ★★★★ (4/5) MOJO

‘Don’t let the traditional instruments fool you, this band set the volume high’ – BBC INTRODUCING

‘Like Tom Waits meets Nick Cave in a smoky after-hours whiskey bar’ – CHRIS HAWKINS, 6 MUSIC

‘Skeletal blues collective release spine-chilling debut’ – LOUDER THAN WAR!

‘Blues folk punks…A great punk album…something a bit different’ – VIVE LE ROCK

‘One of the most distinctive names to have emerged in the past few years’ – FOLK RADIO UK

‘Akin to the cinematic ghostliness of Nick Cave and Kate Bush, [they] masterfully weave eerie alt-folk with suspenseful blues rock, which they call skeletal blues’ – BEN YUNG, THE REVUE