LYR

British trio LYR have crafted a sound that not only brings together the worlds of spoken word, poetry, and music, but have carved it into an all-encompassing mix of brooding, ethereal contemporary classical pop, as heard on their 2020 debut, Call in the Crash Team. LYR (Land Yacht Regatta) first started to come together after singer/songwriter Richard Walters contacted U.K. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage about collaborating on a poetry-led music project in 2010. Although the project never got off the ground, Armitage supplied lyrics for Walters' song "Redwoods," which was released on his 2012 album Regret Less. A number of years passed before the idea of a poetry collaboration rose again, this time with composer/producer Patrick James Pearson (who had worked with Walters on their shoegaze-inspired project, Liu Bei) on board. The pair sent Armitage a Dictaphone -- which went unused for nearly three years -- to record spoken-word pieces that they would eventually entwine within a musical bed. LYR signed a deal with Universal, and the first results of the collaboration arrived at the beginning of 2020, with the release of the single "Never Good with Horses." The piano-led, ethereal piece signaled the direction of their debut album. Two more singles appeared, as well as the COVID-19 response piece "Lockdown (In Aid of Refuge)" -- which saw them teaming up with Melt Yourself Down and actress Florence Pugh -- before the album, Call in the Crash Team, was issued in mid-2020. ~ Rich Wilson