In a world of electronic-rap-pop influence rock, it feels like a pleasant surprise to see new stripped back, traditional rock music, and we have Lowlives to thank for a spot of that this weekend at 2000trees Festival.
The Anglo-American band have found themselves starting again off the back of their previous projects, something that took former Beat Union and No Devotion drummer Luke Johnson by surprise. “I didn’t think I’d ever be in a band again,” he said. “I mean, we’ve all been in a lot of different bands and whatnot so, you know, this is actually, believe it or not, the longest band I’ve ever been in.”
Johnson went on to say he had, “Reservations? Just kind of like how hard is it gonna be to start a band, you know, when you’re not 20.”
The Avengers-like assembly of talented musicians have insisted they begrudge the title of Supergroup due to their natural, unconsidered formation.
“I think it’s interesting,” former Ataris bassist Steve Lucarelli said. “We got branded really early on as a super group. I mean, if you’re looking only at the bands that we’ve been in in the past, I guess sure. But it wasn’t meant to be that.
“I’ve been in bands that were like ‘we’re gonna be a super group, and we’re gonna…’ you know, this is all really organic for us.” Johnson hammered home the message. “This is definitely not a fucking supergroup,” he said.
It’s always refreshing to see artists gravitate towards music for nothing more than passion. “We did this for the love of music,” Luke Johnson said. “For me at least, I’ve realised that after some of my old bands, I can’t live without music. I tried to, and I can’t. We all have real jobs, we all work, and that’s how we pay our bills, and that’s how we fund touring and coming over here. But I don’t resent it, absolutely love it, it’s not gonna change.”
Explaining some more about why this fresh Lowlives project is so special and important to them, Lucarelli said, “It’s probably a lot more pure now because there is no multi-million dollar budget. Streaming is what it is. It’s not great for artists financially. So for us to be here, for us to load up 30 flights of stairs with an Ampeg 8×10, we show up and we press a lot of our own merch. We do all that.
“It’s like I’m 16 again, figuring out how to do this with a bit more experience now from then, obviously, but it’s still very rooted in punk rock, rooted in DIY. Everyone in the band does more than just play their instrument.”
It sounds like the four-piece Lowlives have really gotten back in touch with the soul of what they do, despite the additional wear and tear of the years, which Johnson highlighted with: “We take a lot more Nurofen these days”.
As Lucarelli explained earlier, the group was far less of an industry-planted amalgamation of highly talented artists, but in fact a very natural gathering of mutual friends with a shared musical interest.
Luke Johnson described the unexpected unification. “We clicked before this band, because we were boys for a long time,” he said. “We played together in some other bands, just kind of like little shows here and there. Lee [Downer]… It’s weird because I didn’t actually know Lee. I knew Lee online from his old band, and he knew me online from our old band.
“We would see each other at a couple of festivals, but it’s like we weren’t hanging out actively, like you know. Then I posted something on Instagram. We’re both into cars. I posted something on Instagram about a car, and he’s like Yeah, man, that’s sick.
“He said I’ve started a new band. You should come and drum. I was kind of like, I don’t want to do music again. First, we should have beers. Let’s not even worry about music or sound. Do we actually like each other, because that’s very important. We went out for beers in the pub and it was fucking ace!”
From its humble pub beginnings, all that was needed were the significant additions of Lucarelli and Jaxon Moore for the band to be complete. The seamless transition from individuals to bandmates to friends is precisely why the quartet doesn’t consider itself a supergroup.
“Instantly, we became really close friends,” Lucarelli said. “Like I was saying, it’s really organic the way that it came about, because in LA it’s expensive to live there. It’s a small community once you know each other. And you always look out for your people. And so when they invited me to jam, I was like, yeah.”
On how prepared the artists were to start writing music, Lucarelli very plainly put it. “Lee writes like 20 songs a week,” he said. “He writes more music than anyone I’ve ever met in my life.”
The band’s conveyor belt of new music clearly is not slowing down. “Next album’s already written,” Luke said. “So we’re trying to jump in the studio at the end of the year, depending on the studio availability. We’re trying to jump in at the end of the year in December, maybe early January,” suggesting that 2026 could be a big year for the four-piece. 
Lowlives’ inaugural 2000trees address took place on the NEU stage later that day in front of not only a packed tent, but one filled with people who made the bold choice to miss La Dispute and The Hara for the performance. A huge vote of confidence for an unfamiliar face in these parts.
The refreshingly stripped-back performance plays to everything that made us fall in love with rock music in the first place. Heavy riffs, high energy and emotive vocals were met with approval from the early evening crowd, imbued with a fresh sense of energy as the temperature began to ease outside.
It is obvious that the band, though infant in name, is made up of seasoned musicians who know how to keep a crowd. With boundless energy and intimate interactions, the tent was at their mercy for the short show and sure to pitch a good argument for a return to the UK in the near future.
Could we see Lowlives back on a 2000trees stage, armed with new material, next year? They certainly hope. “I mean, I wouldn’t say no,” Luke said. “We haven’t even played here yet, we’re playing later. But I wouldn’t say no. If someone came up and said, ‘Do you want to main stage 2000trees next year?’ Consider it done.”
Fingers crossed, the good people of 2000trees are listening, and we can do it all again this time next year.
2000trees Festival is being held from 9–12 July 2025 at Upcote Farm, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. You can read all of MetalTalk’s 2025 coverage here.
Lowlives recently released a digital deluxe version of their current studio album, Freaking Out, featuring six unreleased songs, including the new single, Better Off Alone. For more details, visit ffm.to/freakingoutdeluxe.
